We declare an open challenge to all our opponents to prove us wrong.
Our opponents can search everything written in this site- and prove
us wrong on any part. Any place where we are wrong- we will accept
our mistake and make the changes accordingly.

Also -- if anyone succeeds in proving 2 things viz:

1- The riots were a pogrom or genocide or massacre and not riots and

2- The state government was culpable

we will declare that we have been defeated.

*All Indian English dailies- and others who are vociferous against
Narendra Modi and call these riots as a 'genocide', 'pogrom', or
'massacre' -- and accuse the state government of being a party to the
violence -- are given this challenge.*

People who we challenge to prove us wrong:

1- Vir Sanghvi counte...@hindustantimes.com

2- Pamela Philipose pamela.p...@expressindia.com

3-Rajdeep Sardesai

4-Prannoy Roy

and many others.

Please inform about this challenge to others.

We will accept written debates only.

They should be sent to: ad...@gujaratriots.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

*A RELATED LINK PLEASE:*

GODHRA: THE TRUE STORY

Nicole Elfi

http://www.jaia-bharati.org/nicole-elfi/ni-godhra-ang.htm

*EXCERPTS:*

"Indisputable" facts

Let us quote some findings of Justice Tewatia's Inquiry Commission,
which its report described as "indisputable":

o The attack on Sabarmati Express on 27.02.02 was pre-planned and
pre-meditated. It was the result of a criminal conspiracy hatched by
a hostile foreign power with the help of local jehadis ... carried
out with the evil objective of pushing the country into a communal
cauldron.

o The plan was to burn the entire train with more than two thousand
passengers in the wee hours of February 27th, 2002.

o There were no quarrels or fights between the vendors and the
Hindu pilgrims on the platform of Godhra Railway Station.

o Firebombs, acid bulbs and highly inflammable liquid(s) were used
to set the coaches on fire that must have been stored [the day
before] already for the purpose.

o The fire fighting system available in Godhra was weakened and its
arrival at the place of incident wilfully delayed by the mob with the
open participation of a Congress Councillor, Haji Balal.

o Fifty-eight passengers of coach S-6 were burnt to death by a
Muslim mob and one of the conspirators was a Congress Councillor,
Haji Balal.

o Someone used the public address system exhorting the mob "to kill
kafirs and enemies of Bin Laden."

About the media:

o Gujarati language media was factual and objective. Yet its
propensity to highlight the gory incidents in great detail heightened
communal tension.

o English language newspapers ... appeared to have assumed the role
of crusaders against the State [Gujarat] Government from day one. It
coloured the entire operation of news gathering, feature writing and
editorials. They distorted and added fiction to prove their
respective points of view. *The code of ethics prescribed by the
Press Council of India was violated ... with impunity.* It so enraged
the citizens that several concerned citizens in the disturbed areas
suggested that peace could return to the state only if some of the TV
channels were closed for some weeks.

[16 http://www.jaia-bharati.org/nicole-elfi/ni-godhra-ang.htm#notes3
]

End of forwarded message from S. Kalyanaraman

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

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bademiyansubhanallah

unread,

Mar 31, 2010, 2:11:25 AM3/31/10

> Since newsgroup posts are being removed
> by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
> this post may be reposted several times.

Beautiful People with Nitin Gadkari Part 1 - 20/3/10

Watch Video

http://vodpod.com/watch/3274755-beautiful-people-with-nitin-gadkari-part-1-20310

Beautiful People with Nitin Gadkari Part 2 - 20/3/10

Watch Video

http://vodpod.com/watch/3274756-beautiful-people-with-nitin-gadkari-part-2-20310

MS - Believe in IK OANKAAR Member since:May 12, 2006
Total points:12001 (Level 6)

Resolved Question

How is team Nitin Gadkari?

So far I did not pay attention on his team but after reading comments
from Shotgun, I started reading and critically analyzing this national
counsel.

Karuna Shukla : niece of Mr. Atal Bihari Vajapayee

Varun Gandhi, Of course benefited because of his family background and
his provocative and controversial speeches.

Vasundhara Raje Scindia, daughter of late smt Rajmata Vijayaraje
Scindia, who else can trouble party leadership more than her.

Thavarchand Ghahlod, Vijay Goel both lost parliamentary elections and
Dharmendra Pradhan lost assembly elections, and all three general
secretory, but Yashwant Sinha missing from the list and Bihar
elections are approaching.

No general secretory from UP, only one member from Karnataka in team
Gadkari where BJP is in power.

Of course, Mr. Advani and RSS are never ignored in BJP.

From parliament to team Gadkari every where one can see, Mr. Advani's
team more than Mr. Gadkari's team, may it be leader of opposition, or
leader of NDA, or leader of BJP in Rajyasabha, or in team Gadkari
Anant Kumar, and Vasundhara Raje though Arun Shourie and Yashavant
Sinha did not find place.

And for RSS, Narendra Singh Tomar, Ram Lal, Varun Gandhi, Vinay
Katiyar, Thavar Chand Gahlot.

Mr. Gadkari had to leave out the deserving candidate like Shahnavaz
Husein from being General Secretory and accommodated as spokes person,
though he is three times MP and more deserving than many others.

And by the way there are 3 general secretaries from Lok Sabha and 6
from Rajya Sabha, and I am emphasizing more on general secretaries
because that position is considered as most important in BJP.

Now according to media news the Yuva morcha president will be Anurag
Thaukur, HP CM Prem Kumar Dhumal's son.

Yes lot of Young faces and more than 33% females in the team. A
positive sign, but I don't see lot of people with grassroots and mass
support.

What is your opinion on Team Gadkari? Would this team take BJP to Mr.
Gadkari's target to increase vote base to +10%? Did he keep his
promise that "People who work will be rewarded in BJP?"
2 weeks ago

Additional Details

Mr. Bull, I don't my question was how is team Gadkari as compared to
team Congress because that is already proven. But to answer your
question.

For your kind information, these just few examples, more you want, I
can produce a long list but I don't think that is the question here:

Late Madhavrao Scindia joined politics with Bharatiya Jan Sangh and he
was son of Late Rajmata Scindia. So it goes like this:

Late Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia
=======================

Daughter: Yashodhara Raje Scindia
Son: Madhavrao Scindia
Daughter: Vasundhara Raje
Grandson: Dushyant Singh

I already mentioned about Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee's family, now see
few more:

Rajnath Singh:
===========
Son: Pankaj Singh

Jaswant Singh
===========
Son: Manvendra Singh

B. S. Yeddyurappa
===============
Son: B. Y. Raghavendra

Madan Lal Khurana
===============

Son: Vimal Khurana
Daughter In law: Vandana Khurana
2 weeks ago

by Vijay D Member since:February 15, 2007Total points:9900 (Level 5)

Best answer 11%2613 answers
Member Since: February 15, 2007
Total Points: 9900 (Level 5)
Points earned this week: 54

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

This is team RSS with head quarters based in Nagpur. Full BJP has been
taken over by Marathi culture. The reason for fall of BJP in north
India is only because of the prevalent Marathi culture.
2 weeks ago

Asker's Rating:Asker's Comment:10/10

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100318173007AAvUPsH

A thought to ponder

Tuesday, 23 March 2010

“No true Muslim can kill a Hindu, no true Hindu can kill a Muslim.
Yet the pseudo-secularists insist on indentifying terrorists with
religion.
The state should be secular, the government should be secular but an
individual cannot be secular.”

sd/Nitin Gadkari

http://www.nitingadkari.org/

Life Sketch

A Visionary Performer

A visionary with great ideas and an innovative approach, an able
administrator who believes in attaining results , an iconic leader for
the party workers, a Leader of Opposition who keeps the government on
its toes when in opposition; a performer par excellence as a Minister
are the words that best bring about the profile of Nitin Gadkari. In
other words, here is a leader who has the ability to make democracy,
deliver!

For him politics was never confined to gaining power. He always looked
at it as an instrument for bringing about all round development of the
people. He believes that “Seva and Vikas”, (service and development)
lead the way for better public service, which in turn expands and
strengthens the base of the party, at the grass root level.

A Swayamsevak of the RSS to the core, for Mr Gadkari, social justice,
harmony and equality are matters of commitment. His skills in social
engineering , withstood the litmus test of electoral politics in the
recent Maharashtra assembly elections especially in the Nagpur
district.

His clear vision and perfect understanding of the needs of the masses,
has helped him to bring effective changes that have benefitted the
common man. In political as well as the social spheres Mr. Gadkari,
has always adopted an all encompassing approach. Antyodaya, (to reach
out to the last person on the social ladder) has always been the focus
of his development agenda. His willingness to accept suggestions and
implement the viable ones helped Mr. Gadkari to change the face and
functioning of the Public Works Department (PWD) of Maharashtra
Government during his very illustrious tenure as its Minister..

A Sincere Party Soldier

Mr. Gadkari began as a grass root level worker and has successfully
led from the front, several agitations and other programmes of the
BJP . He has worked in different capacities and has held varied
positions within the party, before taking up the post of Maharashtra
BJP President in 2004. As a true party soldier, he has all along
accepted whatever responsibility the party wanted him to shoulder and
has carried it out to the best of his abilities.

After taking over as Maharashtra BJP President in November 2004, Mr.
Gadkari visited almost every tehsil and knows countless party workers
by name. Due to his dynamism, development-oriented approach and
openness, the BJP has been able to bring various new sections of
society in its fold.

Early Days of Activism

Nitin Gadkari learned his initial lessons in nationalism and
patriotism at a very young age. He entered the political arena as a
student activist. He joined the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad
(ABVP) in 1976 and took active part in university elections. In 1979
he became the Secretary of Vidharbha region. Under his stewardship
ABVP won the elections for all positions in the Nagpur University
Students' Council. During his tenure he successfully organized the
28th National Convention of ABVP.
At the age of 24, he was elected as the Nagpur City President of
Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). In 1985 he became secretary of BJP
Nagpur City and he worked relentlessly to strengthen the party
organization in urban and rural areas of the district.
At the age of 32, Nitin Gadkari successfully contested elections for
Maharashtra Legislative Council from Nagpur division Graduates
Constituency, spread over five districts, and became an M.L.C. He
repeated his successful performance four consecutive times in 1990,
1996, 2002 and 2008. Notably, he was elected unopposed in 2002.
Mr. Gadkari's success in the legislative politics runs parallel with
his organizational achievements in BJP. At the age of 35, he became
the General Secretary of BJP in Maharashtra. Under his leadership the
party organization spread its tentacles all over the state. The
party's spectacular victory in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation in
1992 elections, established his organization prowess beyond doubt. At
the age of 38, Mr. Gadkari was inducted in the Maharashtra Cabinet as
the Minister for Public Works. High level of result orientation and
performance marked his ministerial inning. He was Leader of Opposition
in Maharashtra Legislative Council at the age of 42. As a responsible
leader of opposition, he took up various important issues such as
farmer’s suicides and made the government listen to. He also came out
with out-of-box suggestions and viable solutions to address these
issues.

In 2004, Mr. Gadkari at the age of 47, became the President of BJP
Maharashtra State.

Mark on Governance:

Gadkari’s stint as Public Works Minister of Maharashtra (1995-99) made
him world-famous thanks to his resoluteness in swiftly completing mega
projects like the Mumbai-Pune Expressway or the network of 55 flyover
bridges in Mumbai at the costs way below the estimated expenditure.
During these four and a half years he left an indelible mark of his
style of governance on his department. He played a key role in shaping
the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana. During the NDA rule, the
Central PWD was revamped as per his suggestions. Mr. Gadkari
transformed Nagpur, making it one of the most beautiful cities of
India. His lasting contribution is his work for uplifting the poor and
the deprived.

His thrust area always has remained the economic and social upliftment
of the have-nots. A case in point is his work for the educated
unemployed. When he was Minister, he launched a scheme for qualified
unemployed civil engineers. They were allowed to register with the PWD
and undertake its assignments, estimated to cost up to Rs.15 lakh. Mr.
Gadkari provided work to around 30000 engineers through this bold
initiative. At the same time, Gadkari started a campaign to reward the
employees doing good work and penalise those shirking their
responsibilities. Every year since, the State Governor distributes
awards to outstanding PWD engineers on the birth anniversary of Sir M.
Visvesvaraya. Such pioneering efforts instilled a confidence among the
PWD personnel. Under Mr. Gadkari, they completed several prestigious
assignments in record time.

Mr. Gadkari’s two achievements stand out in particular. He pioneered
the concept of Public-Private partnership (PPP) in infrastructure
development. The BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model has the basis of
this concept. It is now implemented widely in India, thanks to this
initiative large budgetary funds were made available for rural road
development. The other is the up-gradation of norms for the
construction industry. Completion of mega projects in a time bound
frame, too, is his initiative. Establishment of a Maharashtra State
Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) was one of his innovative
initiatives through which funds were raised from open market for
infrastructure projects for the first time in India
One of the first tasks Mr. Gadkari planned was to provide all-weather
road connectivity to the 13736 villages in Maharashtra. He noted that
they had remained unconnected even after 50 years of independence. He
remarked that it would take 350 years to complete the work through
annual budgets. As finances could not become available from government
coffers, he persuaded NABARD officials and obtained a soft loan of Rs.
700 crore for rural connectivity. Mr. Gadkari approached Naxalite-
infested areas where no road work was allowed by Naxalites. He secured
the assistance of the Border Road Organisation (BRO) to construct
roads and bridges, thus providing the tribals with easy and permanent
road access.

As Guardian Minister for Nagpur District, Mr. Gadkari changed the
complexion of Nagpur and the district. Low cost housing schemes for
economically weaker sections, Markets for hawkers. Development and
beautification of prominent places like Deekshabhoomi, where Dr.
B.R.Ambedkar embraced Buddhism, were some of his noteworthy
achievements.

Social Outlook, Professional Approach

A successful entrepreneur, Mr. Gadkari tops the list of progressive
leaders who have profound concerns for socio-economic development and
environmental protection. His personality is a perfect mix of
entrepreneurship and social leadership. This has helped him in
creating organisations with social outlook and professional approach.
He has successfully utilized urban resources for creating employment
opportunities in rural areas. His sincere and deep interest in tapping
the conventional and non-conventional energy sources, to their
optimum, is visible through the various projects he has launched,
through his Purti Group of companies, in the region.

A co-operative supermarket competing with private malls and mega
markets; successful implementation of first private sector composite
2500TPD sugar factory in an area where even stalwarts rejected the
idea of starting a sugar factory; Ethanol plant of 1,20,000 ltrs; 26
MWT of Power Generation unit and Bio-fertiliser with the country's
first biodiesel pump are all examples of his commitment to implement
social schemes in a professional manner. His business group is also
running a solvent extraction Soyabean plant and a cogeneration power
plant of 8 mw capacity. Being an agriculturist, Mr Gadkari is the
first facilitator of solar fencing. He firmly believes in improving
the financial status of the farmers by increasing their purchasing
power, to bring about their all round development.

Mr. Gadkari has a taste for everything that is modern. He initiated a
process of setting up Software Technology Park in Central India. The
project of reusing the sewage water for Power Generation and
industrial use thereby saving clean water, speaks of his practical and
modern approach.

An Empathic Communicator

A powerful orator from his college days winning several awards has
evolved into communicator where he presents issues in a very point
wise logical fashion. He is perhaps the only politician who enthralls
lakhs of youth telling them importance of entrepreneurship and
development. Gadkari has established a record by attracting lakhs of
young people to watch his presentations on the theme of development.
Stadiums were overflowing with thousands of teenagers and youngsters
when he made public presentations on the potential of MIHAN
(Multimodal international cargo hub and airport at Nagpur) complex at
various places. There was not a word of politics in any of the
speeches or any appeal to instigate passions. On the other hand when
he is handling all important issues like fair prices for farm produce
he is very fierce and takes laks of farmers with him. The ability to
address diverse issues concerning to urban youth to the farmers to the
forest dwellers with same empathy and passion makes him very effective
in bonding with people at large..

A firm believer in Antyodaya :

Gadkari firmly believes in the concepts of Antyodaya, Integral
Humanism and trusteeship. More importantly, he has established that he
can walk the talk and make his commitment to the cause of people's
welfare reflect through his governance. It was under his leadership
that Maharashtra BJP contributed in the Annadata Sukhi Bhava Yojana of
a Voluntary Organisation and reached out to the widows of those
farmers who have committed suicides. Mr. Gadkari gave top priority to
constructing roads to tackle the problem of tribal malnutrition in
Melghat - Dharni belt of Amaravati district and provided all- weather
connectivity to the 91 remote villages of the belt. This connectivity
has changed the socio-economic profile of this belt with the incidence
of malnutrition coming down dramatically. It is his conviction that
each position and authority must have only one objective: welfare of
the public.

His Social Activities include

Adoption of 500 orphans of farmers who committed suicides due to
agrarian crises in the region.

Support for over 2000 BPL families for heart operations

Providing low cost housing for workers and the poor

A Globe Trotter

As someone who believes in learning things first hand, Mr. Gadkari has
traversed the globe in his quest to gain latest knowledge in varied
fields in which he is active. From water utilization in Israel to
water management in France, to sugar production in Brazil, to
infrastructure development in China, he has visited different
countries to understand the developmental processes going on in
different parts of the world. He has so far visited Israel, Italy,
France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan, China, Hong
Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, United States, Canada, Brazil and Sri
Lanka.

Personal

A sports enthusiast, Mr. Gadkari has particular interest in Cricket.
Married to Kanchan, the couple has three children – Nikhil, Sarang and
Ketaki.

Born - 27 May 1957 Nagpur, India.

Educational Qualification: - M. Com., L.L.B., D.B.M.

Positions Held in Public Sphere In Organisation :

1976-77 :Active member of ABVP and active participation in ABVP's anti-
Emergency work

1977 :Coordinator for Purogami Lokashahi Aghdadi's Vidarbha region
after Emergency was lifted.

1979 :Elected as Vidarbha region secretary of ABVP

1980 :Re-elected as Vidarbha region secretary of ABVP

1981 :Nagpur city unit President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha

1985-86 :Nagpur city unit Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party

1988-89 :General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party's Nagpur city
unit

1989 :Elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from Nagpur
graduate constituency.

1992-94 :General Secretary of the state unit of BJP

2004 :President of the BJP Maharashtra State unit

1995-99 :Government Cabinet Minister for Public Works Department of
Maharashtra State.

1999-2004 :Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislature Council.

1995-99 :Member of the High Power Committee for Privatization,
Government of Maharashtra.

1995-99 :Founder Chairman, Maharashtra State Road Development
Corporation Ltd.

1995-99 :Guardian Minister for Nagpur District, Govt. of Maharashtra.

1995-99 :Chairman, Mining Policy Implementation Committee, Govt. of
Maharashtra.

1995-99 :Chairman National Rural Road Development Committee, Govt. of
India. Chairman, Review Committee of CPWD, Govt. of India.

1995-99 : Chairman, Metropolis Beautification Committee, Govt. of
Maharashtra.

http://nitingadkari.org/lifeskectch.html

Youth leader

Nitin Gadkari was inspired to join the students’ movement by late
Dattaji Didolkar and Yashwantrao Kelkar, the two stalwarts who shaped
the avante garde students’ organization called Akhil Bharatiya
Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). As a fiery and sensitive youth leader, he
showed a typical aversion to injustice –be it in the form of fee hikes
or increasing political interference in education. His distaste for
lowering of standards of education and inertia of the youth became
visible during the various movements and agitations that he led, In
the very early stages of his political career, Gadkari exhibited his
capabilities to shoulder the higher responsibilities, which he would
be entrusted with in the future.

The young firebrand student leader made his foray into active politics
in the post Emergency era. He became the President of BJP Yuva Morcha
at the age of 26, which marked his entry into active politics. He
became the member of Maharashtra State Legislative Council at age of
32. And from here on, there has been no looking back. From the first
stint as a member of the Council in 1989 till date, Gadkari has left
an indelible mark on the politics of Maharashtra, his home state.

http://nitingadkari.org/youthleader.html

Minister

Driven since childhood by the philosophy of nationalism, Antyodaya and
concern for the underprivileged, Nitin Gadkari led various agitations
as a student leader in ABVP. He entered active politics after the
Emergency, which was imposed in 1975. In 1983 he was made president of
BJP Yuva Morcha. His attempt to enter the Maharashtra state Assembly
in 1985 was unsuccessful. He became the Member of Legislative Council
in 1989 and since then there has been no looking back.

Since 1989 till today, Mr. Gadkari has continued to be member of
Maharashtra Legislative Council, getting elected 5 times in a row from
the Graduate Constituency, comprising of over 2 lac voters, spread
across 5 revenue districts. He has worked his way up the ladder of
progress as State Secretary, PWD Minister, leader of Opposition, and
the State BJP President.

As PWD Minister for Maharashtra, from 1995-99, Gadkari left an
indelible mark on the development map of India. He was instrumental in
introducing and effectively implementing PPP (Public Private
Partnership) popularly known as BOT, by completing many development
projects. This unique concept, popular in western countries, but
frowned upon by Indian politicians, not only made the major artery
roads connecting cities better and well maintained, but also helped to
release huge amount of budget funds earmarked for such roads, to be
utilised for rural road development. The concept grew into what we see
today as “Golden Quadrilateral” and many more projects by NHAI on one
side and “Pantpradhan Gram Sadak Yojana” on the other.

In a lighter vein a politician is described as a person who promises
to build bridges in his pre-election speech and is able to convince
the people after 5 years why they could not be built. Far from all
this the most remarkable and outstanding feature of the tenure of
Nitin Gadkari as Minister for Public Works Department, in the
Government of Maharashtra, was that he delivered even those things
which he had never promised or rather he delivered much more than what
he had promised. He completed development works worth Rs 6000 crores
and provided employment to 10 lakh educated jobless youths of the
State.

Today lots of flyovers and bridges in Maharashtra stand testimony to
what Nitin Gadkari delivered through his vision and confidence by
completing all the projects within the deadline, with utmost adherence
to quality and standards., And he could achieve all this in the most
cost efficient manner. In a span of four years nearly 98% of the total
population in Maharashtra got road connectivity and many districts
completed the target of 100% road connectivity. He raised loans for
rural connectivity also. This aimed to connect 13736 remote villages
of the state, which had remained unconnected by road since
independence.

He took up the target of completing the “Sagari Marg” which was a long
awaited dream of the people of Konkan region. During the four years of
his regime, this dream became true and Konkan got the link of “Sagari
Marg” barring two large bridges in the sea creek.

He wanted fast track projects to be completed in a time bound manner.
He established Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, (MSRDC)
a fully Govt. owned company. MSRDC went to the capital market and
raised Rs. 1180 crores. This was the first and the largest offering in
the capital market by any govt. owned corporation in those times. Thus
MSRDC could undertake large projects like constructing 55 flyovers in
Mumbai at a cost of Rs. 1500 crores, Mumbai Pune Expressway at a cost
of Rs.1500 crores and many other bridges, roads and bypass projects in
various parts of Maharashtra. The prestigious Worli-Bandra Sea Link
project, was initiated during his tenure as a minsiter,

Always open to and aggressive in adopting new technology, he undertook
complete computerisation programme for his department. P.W.D. was the
first governmental department to do so. Mr. Gadkari implemented a
scheme of self employment for the civil engineers. These unemployed
engineers were registered as contractors and PWD gave them work upto
Rs.15 lakh through tender along with an advance of Rs. 40,000/- .
Through this scheme 18000 civil engineers got the opportunity to work
independently. He promoted the concept of new technology in
construction field thereby, encouraging contractors to bring in state
of the art construction equipment, which improved the quality of work
as well as the economics.

http://nitingadkari.org/minister.html

Leader of Opposition

As a leader of Opposition in the Council, Nitin Gadkari was never
observed as lagging behind in raising the issues of public interest.
As a true democrat and fiery orator he made it a point to remain
present in the House and take part in the proceedings during the
business sessions. He was always proactive in exposing the lapses of
the government on various issues of public interest. He was corrective
and suggestive in his criticism and all his criticism was embedded in
profound concern for the welfare of the people. He raised as many as
over 5000 queries through starred and un-starred questions and call
attention motions in the House. He developed a style of taking all the
members of Opposition with him irrespective of party or ideological
affiliations in the House.

Nitin Gadkari has a magnetic personality. Even his adversaries on the
treasury benches appreciate his sincerity and commitment in a most
friendly manner. His book “Sabhapati Mahodaya” which depicts his
select speeches in the house reflects his concerns for issues cutting
across the wide spectrum of society.

A very alert and aggressive about injustice Mr. Gadkari keeps the
Government on his toes. He exposes number of irregularities and flows
in Government functioning and suggested practical solutions to rectify
it. Mr. Gadkari continues his zeal for infrastructure development
during his tenure of opposition leader. His tireless efforts for
getting development funds for needy and desirer areas are well
appreciated not only in Maharashtra but nearby states.

http://nitingadkari.org/oppositionleader.html

Party President - Maharashtra

Mr. Gadkari was elected as President of Maharashtra Pradesh Bharatiya
Janata Party in 2004 and was reelected in 2006, December. The faith,
which the party has reposed in him was due to his hard work and his
ability to keep the party workers spirited, active and united. He has
always guided the elected members effectively, so that they can act as
agents of change in their respective constituencies, by undertaking
SEWA (Service project) and VIKAS (development works).

He travels extensively to establish first hand contacts with the party
workers in the state. His personal touch to the relations, which he
has developed, has earned him the faith and goodwill of the party
workers all over Maharashtra.

In a span of thirteen days, Mr. Gadkari addressed 114 election
meetings in the nook and corner of the state, during the recently held
elections. This shows how much he was in demand to campaign for the
party candidates.. He is direct and straight forward in his approach
and never hesitates to launch a scathing attack on his opponents, but
his high level of maturity prevents him from launching personal
attacks. He is ruthless in exposing the divisive forces working within
the country. His oratory skills and clarity of purpose attract
students and youth.. His thorough understanding of public issues,
knowledge of facts and figures, and the skill of juxtaposing things in
an appealing manner, with humour and sarcasm laced in his election
speeches, make him a very popular leader of the masses.

During the Lok Sabha elections Nitin Gadkari addressed a total of 146
election meetings in Maharashtra and neighbouring states of Madhya
Pradesh and Chhatisgarh.

Nitin Gadkari was on Saturday, December 19th 2009, appointed the BJP
National president at a meeting of the Parliamentary Board of the
party.

http://nitingadkari.org/president.html

Links

Title Links

Bharatiya Janata Party - The Party with a Difference www.bjp.org

Friends of BJP www.friendsofbjp.org

Bharatiya Janata Party - BJP 25 Years RAJAT JAYANTI www.bjp25.org

BJP HISTORY : Its Birth and Early Growth

Bharatiya Janata Party is today the most prominent member of the
family of organisations known as the "Sangh Parivar". And RSS has
always been dubbed "communal", "reactionary" and what not by its
detractors. Sanghs of swayamsevaks have of course always shaken off
that criticism like so much water off a duck's back. They have never
had any doubt that the organisation is wedded to national unity,
national integrity, national identity and national strength through
individual character and national character. And today this
organisation is poised for a great leap forward. Even its long- time
detractors think and say that now BJP is "unstoppable".What is the
story of this national epic?

History is the philosophy of nations. And the Sangh Parivar has a very
clear and candid conception of Indian history. Here was a great
civilization whose glory spread from Sri Lanka to Java and Japan and
from Tibet and Mangolia to China and Siberia. While it weathered the
storms of Huns and Shakas and Greeks it wilted before the Islamic
storms of the Turks. However, a 1000-year resistance saw this country
bloodied but unbowed. Its civilization survived through the heroic
efforts of the Vijayanagar Empire and of Shivaji, Rana Pratap and Guru
Govind Singh and countless heroes and martyrs

In more recent times this torch was picked up by Swami Dayanand and
Swami Vivekanada. And in the present century the good work has been
carried on by Sri Aurobindo, Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi and
others. The RSS, founded by Dr Hedgewar in 1925 and consolidated by
Shri Guruji after 1940, is the heir to this heroic, historic heritage.
It has nothing against Muslim Indians - as distinguished from Muslim
invaders. Its position on this issue has all along been: "Justice for
all and appeasement of none". But it has no doubt that we were and are
a Hindu nation; that change of faith cannot mean change of
nationality.

http://nitingadkari.org/bjpHistory.html

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

The RSS entirely agrees with Gandhiji's formulations that "There is in
Hinduism room enough for Jesus, as there is for Mohammed, Zoroster and
Moses" and that "majority of the Muslims of India are converts to that
faith from Hinduism through force of circumstances. They are still
Hindu in many essential ways and, in a free, prosperous, progressive
India, they would find it the most natural thing in the world to
revert to their ancient faith and ways of life."

Due to the British policy of "Divide and Rule" and the politicians'
proclivity to compromise and temporise the country suffered the trauma
of the partition. But the Sangh Parivar has no doubt that before very
long the unities, the varieties and the strengths of our ancient
civilization will prevail. RSS has been continuing the task of nation
building since its inception. It did it through the tumultuous period
of 1930s and 40s. But it was rudely shaken by Gandhiji's killing and
the Government's political exploitation of that national tragedy.

The RSS, along with millions of people, did not approve of Gandhiji's
Muslim appeasement policy - starting with support of the Khilafat
movement - but it had the greatest respect for the Mahatma. Indeed,
Gandhiji had visited the RSS winter camp in Wardha in December 1934 -
and addressed the Delhi RSS workers in Bhangi colony, in Spetember
1947. He had deeply appreciated the "noble sentiments" and
"astonishing discipline" of the RSS. He had never spoken even one word
of criticism of the RSS. But after his killing, 17000 RSS workers -
including Shri Guruji - were accused of "conspiracy of murder" the
Mahatma Gandhi and the RSS workers offered Satyagraha. But during all
this time not one MLA or MP raised the issue in any legislature. For
the RSS, it was the moment of truth. And this truth, as enunciated by
Gokhale, was that "What cuts deep in politics cuts deep all round" and
that unless the RSS grew political teeth and wings, it would always be
at the mercy of unscrupulous politicians. This was the context in
which Shri Guruji blessed the birth of Bhartiya Jana Sangh under the
leadership of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee in 1951. And in the very
first General Elections the BJS emerged as one of the four nationally
recognised parties. The Party has never looked back since then.

http://nitingadkari.org/bjpHistory.html

The First Decade

The first decade was a period of steady growth organisationally and
policy evolution and elaboration ideologically. It took up the issues
of territorial integrity like Kashmir, Kutch and Berubari - and in the
process suffered the martyrdom of its founder-President Dr Mookerjee
in a Kashmir jail. It demanded cow protection as per Article 48 of the
Constitution and Gandhiji's declaration that "Cow protection is more
important than even Swarajya". It came out against Zamindari and
Jagirdari. It criticised permit- licence-quota Raj. And it came out
for the nuclear option to reinforce national defence. The 1962 China
war and 1965 Pakistan war put Sangh Parivar on the center-stage as the
conscience of the country. When the RSS Parivar was entrusted with
police duties in 1965, and it performed the same to the satisfaction
of all-even Muslims began to join Jana Sangh. Shri Guruji was
specially invited to the National Integration Council. General Kulwant
Singh said at the time: "Punjab is the sword arm of India and RSS is
the sword arm of Punjab."

In all countries, parties associated with the freedom movement enjoy
long years of power. So did the Congress - for 20 years. But the 1967
elections ended the Congress monopoly of power. From Punjab to Bengal
there were non-Congress coalitions everywhere. As a political wit put
it: "You could travel from Amritsar to Calcutta without setting foot
in Congress territory."

In most of the States Jana Sangh and the Communists worked together.
They seemed to be guided by the dictum: "We are all children of Bharat
mata and we are all products of the 20th century."

However, this was more than the monopolistic Congress could stand. It
used its vast money power and its capacity for intrigue to topple
government after state government.

But even so Jana Sangh did not lose heart. Under the leadership of Pt.
Deendayal Upadhyaya it held a tremendous session in Calicut. Here it
clarified its language policy of "All encouragement to all Indian
languages" to the delight of all linguistic groups. The Mathrubhumi,
leading Malayali daily, described the BJS session "the Ganga flowing
South."

However, within days of this historic session Deendayalji was found
murdered near Mugalsarai railway station. In good faith the BJS asked
for a CBI enquiry. But the way CBI drew blank made it clear that
Central Agency has been politicised and that it would never unravel
political crime.

Although the murder of Deendayalji was a stunning shock the BJS was
too big and too strong to be stopped in its tracks. Under the
leadership of Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, it enthussiastically joined
the movement for the libera- tion of Bangladesh. Its agitation for a
higher procurement price for cereals gave the country food sufficiency
and food security. Its election manifesto for 1971 was titled "War on
Poverty". The Congress stole that slogan and hindi-ised it into
"Garibi hatao" and swept the 1971 and 1972 polls. But once again Jana
Sangh was too good and strong to be overwhelmed by the ebb and tide of
politics.

http://nitingadkari.org/bjpHistory.html

Nitin Gadkari + Fans
Just Nitin Gadkari
Just Fans

Nitin Gadkari Watch the Live webcast of speech of BJP President Shri
Nitin Gadkari at Indore at 12.10
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Press Statement issued by BJP President Shri Nitin Gadkari at his
first press conference as National President of the BJP in New Delhi
February 17 at 9:32pm

View Feedback (6)

Man Singh, Shashwat and Rajendra like this.

Nitin Gadkari A new note
February 9 at 11:58pm

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Shashwat and Pratik like this.

Pranav Gupta Congress sympathy towards Terrorists comes clear when
they supported J&K Chief Minster stand to WELCOME BACK the terrorists
from Pakistan or Pakistan Occupied Kashmir . Home Minister of India
Mr. Chidambram in a Press conference in Jammu extends full party
support towards the issue ignoring the facts that these elements are
responsible for the ...

killing of thousands of people in state & other parts of India.

I will ask Mr. Chidambram, that he must go and visit the home of
people died in bomb attacks, open firing by these elements. Also go to
the houses of our GREAT COPS & ARMY MEN who sacrificed their lives to
safe guard the country from such anti national elements. WHY CONGRESS
IS PLAYING WITH THE SECURITY OF COUNTRY.

March 5 at 4:03pm

RECENT ACTIVITY

Nitin Gadkari changed his Location.
Nitin Gadkari edited his Country, Currently Running For and Website.

Contact Info

Email:resp...@nitingadkari.org
Phone:(0712) 2727127Cell:9821080522
Location:Gadkari Wada Upadhye Road Mahal
Nagpur, India, 440002

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nitin-Gadkari/444312885552#!/pages/Nitin-Gadkari/444312885552?v=info&ref=mf#info_edit_sections

Nitin Gadkari indirectly targets Shatrughan Sinha

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Friday asked
party leaders to raise any complaints about his choice of a new team
with him and not with the media.

"Those who have complaints about the new team should speak to me, not
the media," Gadkari told the NDTV news channel, a day after actor-
turned-party MP Shatrughan Sinha's remarks on the composition of the
new team of office-bearers announced Tuesday.

Sinha Thursday recited the lyrics of an old Hindi film song in answer
to a question about the new team. "Uff na karenge, lab see lenge,
aansu pee lenge (I will not sigh, will seal my lips and swallow my
tears)," he said, expressing disappointment that leaders like Yashwant
Sinha had been left out and the team had not been able to give a
message of dynamism.

"It's wrong to say that Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie were excluded
because they are Advani detractors... It's not possible to include
everyone on the team," Gadkari said.

The BJP president also justified the appointment of Nehru-Gandhi
family member Varun Gandhi as party secretary, saying: "Varun Gandhi
should be given a chance, why hold the past against him?"

The party had sought to distance itself from Varun Gandhi after he
allegedly made inflammatory remarks during the Lok Sabha election
campaign last year.

Date : 19/03/2010. News by Newsofap.com

http://www.newsofap.com/newsofap-9091-25-nitin-gadkari-indirectly-targets-shatrughan-sinha-newsofap.html

Volume 25 - Issue 10 :: May. 10-23, 2008
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU • Contents

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE STATES

Brief revolt

LYLA BAVADAM

The truce worked out in the Maharashtra BJP following Gopinath Munde’s
resignation drama may be temporary.

MANVENDER VASHIST/PTI

BJP president Rajnath Singh (second from left) with Nitin Gadkari,
Venkaiah Naidu and Gopinath Munde in a show of unity after a meeting
at his residence in New Delhi on April 22.

GOPINATH MUNDE took back his resignation as party general secretary.
The Mumbai unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a new chief.
The Shiv Sena-BJP partnership remains intact. And so, all seems well
with the Maharashtra BJP after four days of turmoil. But the truth is
that this is only a lull. Political observers predict trouble in the
run-up to the forthcoming elections.

The hostility, now much publicised, between Munde and Nitin Gadkari,
the BJP’s Maharashtra State unit chief, began four years ago when the
latter one-upped Munde to get to his present post. Since both were
leaders of some standing, the party never quite favoured one over the
other and the two men were left to sort out the rivalry on their own.

Over time, it grew worse and neither was prepared to give up. If Munde
could draw crowds in Marathwada, Gadkari could hold his own in
Vidarbha. If Munde could appeal to Other Backward Class (OBC) voters,
Gadkari could play on the regional pride of Vidarbha voters. It was
inevitable in this clash that factions would form, and faction-
fighting led to Munde’s resignation.

The nomination of a chief for the party’s Mumbai unit was pending for
a year. The outgoing chief, Prakash Mehta, should have stepped down
last year, but Munde was against the appointment of Madhu Chavan, who
was a nominee of Gadkari. Munde stood his ground despite the decision
of a committee comprising senior leaders Ram Naik, Ved Prakash Goyal
and Bal Apte favouring Chavan.

On April 19, the party’s prime ministerial candidate and Leader of the
Opposition in the Lok Sabha, L.K. Advani, was in Mumbai and Gadkari
informed him about the stalemate. Advani gave the go-ahead for
Chavan’s appointment. An enraged Munde submitted his resignation the
next day, saying he objected to the undemocratic manner in which the
appointment was carried out.

The post of the BJP’s Mumbai unit chief is a prestigious one. With the
upcoming elections, it is also a crucial post for the party. A party
source said, “The Mumbai party chief has to be a man with the ability
to motivate and mobilise workers. He can only do this if he has gained
their respect and if he is known to them.”

Munde’s recommendations were Kirit Somaiya, a former Member of
Parliament, and Raj Purohit and Prakash Mehta, both Members of the
Legislative Assembly, on account of their proven track record. Mehta
was also the outgoing chief.

The BJP has strong support among traders and the business community,
and Munde believed that these candidates would be able to connect well
with this section. Gadkari, it seems, backed Chavan because he is a
Maharashtrian, a factor that he thought would help cement relations
not only with the Shiv Sena but also with party workers. A party
source said, “When Chavan was named chief, Munde resigned since he saw
this as a win for his rival Gadkari.”

The first round in what surely is going to be an ongoing war has
definitely gone to Munde. Stunned by his resignation and the reaction
it provoked – 4,000 BJP workers reportedly quit their posts – the
party headquarters in Delhi moved immediately to repair the damage.

To win back a reportedly intractable Munde, the party offered him a
carte blanche with regard to nominations for key posts. The post of
the party’s Mumbai chief went to Gopal Shetty, another Gadkari
nominee, but Munde seemed placated enough to take back his
resignation.

Why did the BJP capitulate to Munde? Much weighed in his favour.
Practically the entire legislative wing backed him. The party’s major
city units in Mumbai, Pune, Nasik and Aurangabad stood by him.
Functionaries in the Latur, Beed and Sangli units also registered
their support for him. Munde, bolstered by the support he got, went
for the jugular.

It was a smart move on his part to go and meet Sena supremo Bal
Thackeray to “seek his blessings”. The message for the BJP was that
Munde was ready to raise his own flag and take the coalition partner
with him.

Thackeray had his own reasons to entertain Munde. His son Uddhav lacks
his charisma and political acumen, and nephew Raj’s breakaway party,
the Navnirman Sena, is eating into Sena territory by claiming the
Sena’s agenda as its own.

A visibly weakened Sena was certainly going to give its “blessings” to
Munde. In any case Thackeray had reason to be wary of Gadkari who had
been calling for a severing of ties between the Sena and the BJP.
Gadkari felt that the Sena and its errant ways were holding the party
back in Maharashtra.

However, the single most important factor that made the BJP buckle was
probably Munde’s status as an OBC leader. He has a wide mass base and
the party relies on him to mobilise the Bahujan votes.

One of the things that did not draw much comment during the fiasco was
Munde’s assertion that it was the lack of “democracy” in the party
that had made him resign. He seemed to have conveniently forgotten
that his own rise from a district politician to being a State-level
player was partially fuelled by his late brother-in-law, Pramod
Mahajan.

A knowledgeable source said that Munde “always had a chip on his
shoulder because he was overshadowed by Mahajan. It is true that
Pramodji was responsible in large part for pushing Munde forward but
it is not as if Munde was a baby in politics. Don’t forget he has had
his education in the [Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh] shakha. He knows
how to play the game and he would certainly have risen on his own. But
let us just say, he rose faster with Pramodji’s help.”

While Munde’s abilities cannot be denied, there is no doubt about the
role Mahajan played in his grooming. When Mahajan died, Munde’s career
was expected to “deflate”, an expression used by a BJP functionary at
the time. Two years later, Munde has shown that he can get along on
his own.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2510/stories/20080523251011100.htm

olume 21 - Issue 20, Sept. 25 - Oct. 08, 2004
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU

Election-eve patriotism
LYLA BAVADAM
in Vidarbha

The Uma Bharati-led Tiranga Yatra's six-day-long journey through
Maharashtra raising emotive issues fails to strike a chord among the
people despite the flaunting of the tricolour.

K. BHAGYA PRAKASH

Uma Bharati garlanding the statue of freedom fighter Kittoor Rani
Chennamma before she started the Tiranga Yatra.

DESPITE affirmations to the contrary, the Uma Bharati-led Hubli to
Jallianwalla Bagh Tiranga Yatra evidently formed the vanguard of the
Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign for the Assembly elections in
Maharashtra. During her six-day tour of the State, Uma Bharati
repeatedly said that the yatra was meant only to express her personal
beliefs that one should have pride in one's country and its flag and
that "all other outcomes of the yatra are God's gift". Importantly,
the Idgah controversy itself was not about disrespect to the national
flag, but about Uma Bharati and others disobeying prohibitory orders
issued by the Hubili police. That was the legal reason for her arrest.
At no point was the right to raise the flag questioned. `Disrespect to
the flag' is a convenient pre-election political ploy.

However, the yatra itself - the way it was organised and the issues it
raised - left no room for doubt regarding the BJP's intentions. The
bus used for the yatra was decorated with portraits of an array of
important figures, past and present: Atal Bihari Vajpayee, M. Venkaiah
Naidu, Bhagat Singh, V.D. Savarkar, Chandrashekar Azad, L.K. Advani,
Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
Ashfaqullah Khan, Shivaji, the Rani of Jhansi and Kittur Rani
Chennamma, a freedom fighter. Interestingly, the BJP preferred to
refer to the Idgah Maidan in Hubli as the Chennamma Maidan. This has
sparked a controversy with allegations that the BJP's insistence on
calling it Chennamma Maidan was meant to provoke another conflict.

If, as Uma Bharati said on numerous public occasions, the yatra was
meant to "satisfy personal beliefs and feelings about the tricolour"
why was it an official yatra of the BJP? If it were a yatra to defend
her right to raise the tricolour then why did her public speeches
invariably turn to issues such as water scarcity, power shortages and
unemployment, all election campaign points that the Democratic Front
government in Maharashtra might find difficult to counter. There were
exhortations at every public meeting to "cast your vote to topple the
Congress and bring back the BJP". Equally noteworthy was the fact that
the Tiranga Yatra in the State was organised by State BJP president
Gopinath Munde, Legislative Council leader Nitin Gadkari and party
leader Eknath Kadse, who together formed the core of the campaign
committee for the Lok Sabha elections.

At a public meeting in Akola, Uma Bharati reaffirmed her commitment to
build the Ram mandir at Ayodhya. Significantly, Akola has a history of
communal strife and a minor communal riot had occurred a few days
before Uma Bharati's arrival. The Muslim voter was directly addressed,
first by a warning not to be fooled by the "vote bank politics" of the
Congress and then to be reminded about the old points of dissent
between the community and Hindu fundamentalist parties - Family
planning, education levels and the singing of Vande Mataram. Also
raised were issues relating to Sonia Gandhi's "foreign origins". Uma
Bharati said: "Why do we have this foreigner craze? Marxism may have
been a new idea for Europe but our philosophers have been speaking of
the same ideals from as far back as the 12th century. Why not follow
them instead of Marx? This foreigner craze has resulted in us being
ruled by the Italian Mafia mind. And the minds that thought of making
Sonia the head of the party are also minds that are leftovers of
foreign thinking." Karnataka BJP president H.N. Ananth Kumar, who was
travelling with the yatra, defended its aims: "Any campaign is the
bouquet of many issues. This is not an election campaign. It is a
national yatra to show how the Congress is degrading the flag. It is a
yatra for national detoxification of secularism."

The Tiranga Yatra was a manoeuvre to position Uma Bharati, the BJP,
the saffron flag and the tricolour on the same platform. Projected as
a simple emotional device meant to touch people's hearts it was
actually a political platform to harp on the party's pet issues. But,
apparently, the intended message of the yatra did not quite get across
to the masses. While Uma Bharati alleged that the Congress had an
"unethical advantage" since its party flag bore a striking resemblance
to the tricolour, there is no doubt that one of the expected outcomes
of the yatra was to blur the distinction between the tricolour and the
saffron flag. Numerous attempts were made to link the tricolour to the
Hindu fundamentalist parties. At a public meeting in Risod in
Vidarbha, a local BJP leader said: Hindutva ka josh rashtra ka
tiranga, Dono ko saath leke bhagwa vapas aayega (the tricolour
expresses the strength of Hindutva. If the two march together it will
ensure the return of the saffron flag). In the Varvat Bakaal village
in Buldhana district, Uma Bharati advised the people to keep the
saffron flag, strength of spirit and the tricolour as their
priorities. Her message was not lost on a small section. At a roadside
reception in Washim, a small crowd presented Uma Bharati with a five-
foot high brass trishul on which a saffron ribbon bound together two
crossed tricolours.

However, indications are that the response of most of the people who
attended her public meetings ranged from mild confusion to anger at
being told that the national flag had to be respected. At a public
meeting in Risod, a policeman on duty said he and his colleagues had
been discussing the yatra and concluded that the BJP was trying to
appropriate the flag. He asked: "What else can we think? We cannot
figure out what Umaji is trying to prove with this yatra. Is she
saying we don't respect the flag? Every school going child salutes the
flag."

In any event, Maharashtra formed a focal point of Uma Bharati's yatra.
On her way to Hubli to surrender before a court that issued a non-
bailable warrant against her in the Idgah maidan case, she travelled
through the State by train addressing people on station platforms at
strategic places such as Pune, Sangli, Miraj and Daund in western
Maharashtra, a Nationalist Congress Party stronghold. On her return,
she undertook the Tiranga Yatra. Thus, she effectively covered the
crucial areas of western Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha.
"Unprecedented response" was how Ananth Kumar described the reaction
of the people. However, the attendance was paltry when compared, for
example, to her earlier visit to Akola 15 years ago. In that sense,
the public's response was unprecedented, to the disappointment of the
BJP.

One reason for the poor turn out is the failure of a faction-ridden
State BJP to rally unitedly behind the yatra. At her point of entry
into Maharashtra Uma Bharati was met only by Gopinath Munde who
remained with her while she travelled in Marathwada. Then she was
accompanied by Nitin Gadkari, who has a strong support base in
Vidarbha, and later by Eknath Khadse. At no point was former Union
Minister and senior BJP leader Pramod Mahajan publicly involved with
the yatra. This is curious, considering his well-acknowledged
organisational abilities and his place in the party power structure.
The State BJP attributed the absence of many senior functionaries in
Uma Bharati's entourage to their preoccupation with the Assembly
elections. The explanation was unconvincing. The real reason,
according to some, was that it was too early to start the election
campaign and the party leaders were wary of overstepping the Election
Commission by bringing the national flag into the campaign.

Then why undertake the yatra when there is no consensus in the party
on the matter, especially in Maharashtra? The answer seems to lie
partially in the fact that Uma Bharati wishes to redeem herself with
the party's top leadership and regain her position in Madhya Pradesh.
When queried about this, she declined to reply saying: "I will not
answer anything pertaining to me, mine, myself. I am not important."

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2120/stories/20041008006200900.htm

Volume 26 - Issue 23 :: Nov. 07-20, 2009
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU

COVER STORY

Win by default
LYLA BAVADAM
in Mumbai

In Maharashtra, the Congress-NCP combine returns to power, thanks to a
weak and divided Opposition.

PTI

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan with Union Minister and former Chief
Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh (left) in Mumbai, on October 22.

AS Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan begins a new term in
office, one cannot help but contradict his claim that his government
returned to power on account of its achievements in the past year.
That the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) combine managed a
victory by default is something even staunch party supporters will
find difficult to dispute. The fact is that the victory was thanks to
a weak and divided Opposition.

The Congress-NCP coalition managed a hat-trick despite a strong anti-
incumbency sentiment brought on by a poor economy, staggering rise in
food prices, and absence of emphasis on strengthening security, a
drought-like situation, and various problems in the agricultural
sector including suicide by farmers.

Its main rival, the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was left
far behind; the latter conceded defeat even before the counting of
votes ended. The final results showed the Congress had come first with
82 seats, followed by the NCP with 62 seats. The BJP and the Shiv Sena
could manage only 46 and 44 seats respectively.

Noticeable features of the elections were the low-key campaign
compared with the robust electioneering that preceded earlier
elections, and the sidelining of major issues. It was as if the public
and the politicians were separate elements and the former was just
expected to be onlookers. Unmindful of the people they were to
represent, politicians haggled over seats and fitted the ‘right’
candidate into the ‘right’ constituency.

This time around too, dynastic politics, cronyism and dissidence were
on open display. Some secure seats were lost to parties as a result of
the free-for-all that followed ticket allocation. One significant
example is that of four-time BJP legislator Dr Vinay Natu, who had to
forgo his Guhagar seat in the Konkan region. The BJP had agreed to
part with the seat in order to get two more seats allocated to it as
part of its seat-sharing deal (169-119) with the Shiv Sena. Natu was
forced to give it to Sena man and Leader of the Opposition Ramdas
Kadam, whose Khed seat was amalgamated into Guhagar during
delimitation.

The decision caused an uproar in the region, especially from Rashtriya
Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) supporters. Before Natu, his father Shridhar
Natu of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh had held the seat since 1972. The BJP,
however, extracted the Ghatkopar West seat in north Mumbai from the
Sena for the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan’s daughter Poonam. Natu
and his supporters refused to support Kadam, and the Guhagar seat
slipped away from the saffron combine to the NCP. In Ghatkopar, Poonam
Mahajan, a political novice, lost to Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena (MNS).

The issue also exposed the old feud between the BJP’s State chief
Nitin Gadkari and national secretary Gopinath Munde. Gadkari wanted
Natu to retain the seat, whereas Munde wanted to make the sacrifice in
exchange for the party ticket for Poonam, his niece. The latter also
ensured that his daughter, Pankaja Palve, won the ticket for Parli in
his home district of Beed. Another relative of his was given a seat in
a neighbouring district.

The most interesting case study, however, in the State elections is
that of Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. He has once again emerged
unscathed and is riding a wave. When he was unceremoniously removed
from chief ministership last year after terrorists attacked Mumbai,
some observers said it was the end of his career. Others, who had seen
him bounce back from sticky situations earlier, predicted he would do
so again. Vilasrao is now ensconced in Delhi as a Rajya Sabha member.
He worked aggressively to destabilise the NCP and quell the influence
of his arch enemy and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. His own ‘nest’ is safe.
His son, Amit, who had managed his campaigns earlier, contested from
Latur City and won.

Dynastic politics

SANTOSH HIRLEKAR/PTI

Congress workers celebrate the party's victory in the Assembly
elections, in Mumbai.

Amit Deshmukh is a symbol of Maharashtra’s new shift towards dynastic
politics. The others are Rajendrasingh Shekhawat, son of President
Pratibha Patil, who won on the Congress ticket from Amravati; Union
Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde’s daughter Praniti, who won from Solapur
City Central; Pankaja Palve, Munde’s daughter; and the Sena’s Om Raje
Nimbalkar, son of murdered Congress leader Pawan Raje Nimbalkar.

The Maharashtra Assembly will have two father-son duos representing
the NCP – Chhagan Bhujbal and Pankaj Bhujbal, and Ganesh Naik and
Sandeep Naik. Pankaj, who won from Nandgaon, and Sandeep, who won from
Airoli, are both first-time MLAs, and they fought from constituencies
adjacent to their parents’. Interestingly, Chhagan Bhujbal and Ganesh
Naik started their political careers in the Shiv Sena.

All offspring were not so lucky. Ashish Deshmukh, son of former
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ranjeet Deshmukh; Shekhar
Shende, son of outgoing Deputy Speaker Pramod Shende; and Rahul
Pugalia, son of Naresh Pugalia, the former MP from Chandrapur, all
lost the elections.

PTI

NCP chief Sharad Pawar at an election rally in Thane.

Among the prominent losers were 12 State Ministers. Former Textile
Minister Satish Chaturvedi, Textile Minister in the outgoing
government Anees Ahmad, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ramesh Bang,
and former Minister of State Dharamrao Baba Atram were among the big
losers from Vidarbha. Other Ministers and former Ministers who were
among the losers are Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, Digvijay Khanvilkar, Dr
Sunil Deshmukh, Surupsinh Naik, Siddharam Mhetre, Ranajagjitsinh
Patil, Shobha Bacchav and Dr Nitin Raut. In Ulhasnagar, sitting MLA
Pappu Kalani, a former detenu under the Terrorist and Disruptive
Activities (Prevention) Act, was defeated by the BJP’s Uttamchand
Ailani. The gangster Arun Gawli, who contested from prison, also
lost.

The worst-affected party was Bal Thackeray’s Shiv Sena. Its seats
dropped from 62 in 2004 to 44 this time. The main reason for this was
the rise of the MNS. Headed by Bal Thackeray’s nephew Raj Thackeray,
the MNS won 13 seats in its maiden attempt to the Assembly. Sena’s
current chief and Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav Thackeray’s lack of touch
with the grass roots also reportedly affected his party’s performance.
A shakha (unit) leader in South Mumbai remarked, “If Uddhavji had
concentrated on grassroots work, we would have retained our lead. It
is good he is trying corporate-style management techniques in the
party, but the fact is that the cadre want their leader to have more
josh [being street-savvy] and mingle with them.”

While Uddhav’s leadership may not be openly questioned, he has
definitely lost ground to his more experienced cousin. The MNS won six
of Mumbai’s 36 seats, and the party helped the Congress-NCP bag 20
seats in the city. The three-year-old MNS now has the largest number
of seats in Mumbai after the Congress and the NCP.

The Election Commission statistics showed that 23 per cent of Mumbai’s
votes went to the MNS. The party spoilt the chances of the Sena in
more than a dozen seats – the most notable being Mahim, a Sena
stronghold, where MNS candidate Nitin Sardesai beat Sena candidate
Adesh Bandekar as well as Sena rebel-turned-Congress candidate Sada
Sarvankar. The Sena’s mistake was in taking this seat away from
Sarvankar, who had held it. Bandekar, a novice in politics, was chosen
because he is a television personality.

The MNS seems to have expanded its support base in the six months
after the Lok Sabha elections. The difference was most visible in Pune
where the party got 1.5 lakh votes more than it polled in the Lok
Sabha elections. This is an indicator that the MNS may no longer be
just a spoiler; it has found its political niche. In Kasba Peth
constituency in Pune, a BJP stronghold, BJP candidate Girish Bapat
faced a stiff fight from the MNS candidate. Bapat, who had held the
seat for three terms, finally won by a margin of just 8,162 votes.

VIVEK BENDRE

Chhagan Bhujbal of the NCP, who became Deputy Chief Minister.

The results are bound to affect the Sena’s partnership with the BJP.
After one term in power, from 1995 to 2000, the alliance has not had a
fruitful political relationship. And now the Sena, with a lower seat
tally than the BJP, has had to relinquish the Leader of the Opposition
post.

The BJP, too, does not seem to have recovered from the loss of Pramod
Mahajan. Neither Munde nor Gadkari seems capable of providing
inspirational leadership. They are known for squabbling over party
policies. The turmoil in the party at the Centre has also left its
mark on the State unit.

The latest election has exposed a new phase in Maharashtra politics,
one in which strategic – but fluid – partnerships, coalition
governments and creation of dynasties are more important than issues.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2623/stories/20091120262301100.htm

Volume 17 - Issue 08, Apr. 15 - 28, 2000
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU

Maharashtra manoeuvres

Politics in the State has been on the boil for some weeks now, and the
Democratic Front Government is very much on the defensive.

LYLA BAVADAM
PRAVEEN SWAMI
in Mumbai

LATE last month, Bal Thackeray proclaimed that the Shiv Sena would be
back in power on Gudi Padwa day, the Maharashtrian New Year. At least
one of Deputy Chief Minister Chaggan Bhujbal's staff did not seem too
concerned. As a group of journalists discuss ed the Shiv Sena-
Bharatiya Janata Party strategy to come back into office, the
secretary listened quietly. Then he walked away from his chair,
humming a popular Hindi film tune which made clear just what he
thought of the Sena-BJP's chances. 'Sapne me in milti hai' (you'll
only get it in your dreams) - the line resonated through the office
long enough for even the most film-illiterate to get the point.

Indeed, on Gudi Padwa day, Shiv Sena leader and former Chief Minister
Narayan Rane quietly withdrew a cut motion his party had introduced in
the Assembly on the State Government's budgetary demands for the Food
and Civil Supplies Department. The decision to withdraw the motion
marked the end of the fourth Sena-BJP attempt to bring down the
Democratic Front Government. After a week of hectic lobbying, it had
become clear to Sena-BJP strategists that they simply did not have the
numbers. But the month-lon g political theatre that preceded Gudi
Padwa made clear that the Democratic Front alliance will soon have to
make hard political choices if it wants to keep its six-month long
government going.

MUCH of the recent political skirmishing had been on the Sena-BJP's
chosen terrain. Both parties have been attacking the Nationalist
Congress Party-Congress(I) on communal grounds, arguing that the
government has been compromised by Islamic fundamentalis ts. One major
component of the campaign has been allegations that Mumbai's Samajwadi
Party (S.P.) chief Abu Asim Azmi had made an anti-national speech at
Mastan Talao on February 24. A tape handed over to the State
government by the Sena-BJP records Azmi as proclaiming that if Islam
were to be attacked, he would not be bothered if India broke into
pieces. The Sena has long charged Azmi with having connections with
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), although he was
acquitted by the Supreme Cou rt of his alleged role in the Mumbai
serial bombings of 1993.

When the Assembly session began on March 13, however, Sena-BJP MLAs
brought proceedings to a halt with demands for Azmi's arrest. As their
party colleagues shouted slogans, Shiv Sena members led by former
Ministers Home Prabhakar More and Bala Nandgaonka r occupied the
podium with banners condemning the S.P. leader. They were joined by
Dinaz Patrawala, recently elected on the Shiv Sena ticket after the
Congress(I) denied her the ticket after the death of her husband
Marzaban Patrawala. Two days later, Se na-BJP MLAs blockaded the
Vidhan Bhavan. Violence began when Democratic Front MLAs pushed their
way inside. Eyewitness accounts of the fighting suggest that, for
once, the Sena got as good as it gave.

Matters snowballed outside the Assembly as well. Women Shiv Sena
members of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation assaulted S.P.
corporator Waqarunissa Ansari on March 16, some stripping her and
others trying to strangle her. Ansari, whose crime was a s peech she
made against Thackeray, only escaped serious hurt because of the
intervention of her party colleagues. In this violently anti-Muslim
political climate, Azmi responded with some maturity, insisting that
he had been quoted out of context and that the thrust of his speech
had been misrepresented. Even as a jittery Democratic Front government
initiated criminal proceedings against the S.P. leader at the J.J.
Marg police station, he issued a statement apologising if he "had
inadvertently hurt the f eelings of my countrymen".

It was left to Bhujbal, however, to point out the obvious. The
Democratic Front, he said, had no intention of shielding Azmi, and the
tape made available by the Sena had been sent for tests to establish
its authenticity. But peddling hate, Bhujbal pointe d out, was not an
S.P. monopoly. "Cases against Bal Thackeray for inciting communal
hatred," he says, "were not registered for five years, even though he
was found guilty of having made inflammatory speeches and punished by
the Election Commission." Thac keray was last year stripped of his
right to vote by the Election Commission for speeches he made asking
for votes on religious grounds. "I have called for the files, and will
take action," the Deputy Chief Minister told Frontline.

POSSIBLE legal action against Thackeray forms a second element of the
Sena-BJP campaign. The State government is internally divided over the
consequences of pushing ahead with implementing the recommendations of
the Justice B.N. Srikrishna Commission of Inquiry into the Mumbai
riots of 1992-1993. Although both the Congress (I) and the NCP are
committed to implementing its findings, which could mean Thackeray's
arrest for his well-documented role in the riots, elements in both
parties believe that this c ould lead to violence. It is clear,
however, that should ongoing proceedings in the Supreme Court result
in directions to the Maharashtra Government to act on Justice
Srikrishna's findings, this would provide adequate cover to begin
criminal proceedings against the top leadership of the Sena.

PUNIT PARANJPE

Former Chief Minister Narayan Rane along with Shiv Sena-BJP members
blockading the Vidhan Bhavan during the Assembly session on March 23.

Anticipating this eventuality, the Sena has been charging the
Democratic Front in general, and Bhujbal in particular, with weakening
security for Thackeray and his family. Surplus police personnel posted
with Thackeray were withdrawn on the basis of reco mmendations made by
a review panel led by Chief Secretary Arun Bongirwar. Protected
persons in the 'Z+' category are to be guarded by 43 personnel. The
Shiv Sena-BJP Government in the State had assigned Thackeray 206
personnel, 11 vehicles, a closed circ uit television system at his
residence, and a further 103 guards for his extended family.
Bongirwar's recommendations lowered Thackeray's security cover to 115
personnel and seven vehicles, far in excess of the 43 personnel and
three vehicles prescribed in the security manual.

It is unlikely, given the facts, that Thackeray's security was what
concerned the Sena. The issue in fact presented a political
opportunity. Sena leaders began to charge Bhujbal with ISI and mafia
links, a smear campaign of obvious utility in the event o f
Thackeray's arrest. In early February, as the Srikrishna Commission
issue had begun to re-emerge in political discourse in Maharashtra,
Leader of the Opposition Nitin Gadkari had charged Bhujbal with
meeting at his residence two of those accused of a r ole in the 1993
serial bombings. The meeting, Gadkari said, had been arranged by Azmi.
Gadkari is himself involved in ongoing criminal proceedings relating
to murder.

Perhaps to Gadkari's surprise, Bhujbal promptly accepted that the
meeting had indeed taken place. Eminent lawyer and Azmi's deputy in
the city unit of S.P., Majeed Memon, then delivered the coup de grace.
Former Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Mund e, Memon said, had led a
delegation along with him and the blast accused to meet Prime Minister
Atal Behari Vajpayee and Minister Pramod Mahajan. The Prime Minister
had indeed met the accused, who complained about a series of attacks
by the Rajendra Nikh alje group which had left dead people who were
under trial for their role in the bombings. The two accused had
demanded official security, and also complained about prolonged delays
in their trial. Vajpayee, Memon said, had promised action. "Why didn't
t he Opposition protest when I took these men to meet the Prime
Minister," Memon asks.

If the Sena-BJP leadership had an answer, it was not made public. An
unembarrassed Rane simply pretended that his party's case had not
crumbled. On March 10, he asserted that the Thackeray family had been
made an easy target for the underworld. "The Chho ta Shakeel and
Dawood Ibrahim gangs," he said, "had directed their guns at several
Sena leaders to take revenge for the numerous encounters that took
place when we were in office." The government's decision to scale down
Thackeray's security, he said, "l ends credence to allegations that it
had deliberately made the move."

A fortnight later he insisted that the Mumbai Police had evidence to
link Azmi to Dawood Ibrahim, a claim which left open the question of
why he as Chief Minister had not taken action against the S.P.
leader.

A FURIOUS Bhujbal did what he could, initiating defamation proceedings
against Rane. The State Police too was asked to compel the former
Chief Minister to make available what evidence he had. Rane refused to
do so, perhaps because he had none. These lega l proceedings are
certain to punctuate Maharashtra politics in the months, perhaps even
years, to come. But the Sena has achieved one useful objective through
its campaign of agitation. The Democratic Front has been pushed into a
defensive posture, and h as been able to do little to address
Maharashtra's crippling financial problems, which have been provoking
widespread discontent, particularly in the rural areas.

PUNIT PARANJPE

Shiv Sena leader Bal Nandgaonkar bars the entry of Democratic Front
MLAs into the Vidhan Bhavan.

The government owes dues to cotton and onion farmers, among the
State's most important crops. Procurements in several areas are made
directly by the state, and the Democratic Front faced a major
embarrassment in February when news broke that cheques issu ed to
cotton farmers had been bouncing. Bhujbal now says that the nearly-
bankrupt government, reeling from massive borrowing by the previous
government, has taken loans to clear its dues to farmers. Payments of
some Rs.3,700 crores have already been made , he says, and all cotton
growers covered by the State's procurement scheme will be paid by
early April. Onion farmers' dues will be met by the third week of
April.

This in itself may not be enough to contain discontent in the
countryside, and farmers are not the only ones who are angry. Workers
in Mumbai are protesting against the plans of the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation to sell mill land. Massive illegal tr ansfers of
land have taken place over the years, and funds raised from sales to
private developers have seldom been pumped back to revive factories.
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has announced that the sale of land
would be allowed in order to set up software businesses, a move that
will do little to meet the needs of workers who have not been paid for
years. Twenty-three mills were closed down during Shiv Sena rule, even
while rules designed to revive them were flouted with official
connivance. The Democratic Front seems hardly interested in protecting
the interests of tens of thousands of workers.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Front's plans to make job cuts to reduce the
fiscal deficit could provoke further unrest. In his recent Budget
speech, Finance Minister Jayant Patil described how the revenue
deficit had risen over the last four years from Rs.1, 591 crores to Rs.
9,484 crores. Patil said he planned to make the revenue balance
positive over a five-year period by reducing the revenue deficit by 20
per cent each year for the next five years. Curbs have been placed on
salary expenditure, and plans ar e on in several government
departments to review staff strengths. Five per cent of the posts in
the Finance and Planning Departments have been abolished. But
sustained cuts in expenditure will mean less money for development and
jobs, which in turn could provoke a backlash.

In the months to come, the Democratic Front will have to define a
clear economic agenda to undo the damage caused through five years of
Shiv Sena-BJP rule. Formulating an alternative agenda that does not
alienate farmers and workers may prove a difficult task. More
important, the alliance will have to find ways to engage with the Sena-
BJP's renewed communal onslaught. With the NCP busy expanding its
cadre strength in Maharashtra, and the Congress(I) becoming a victim
of the conflicts in its central lead ership, neither grouping appears
to have any clear understanding of how to bring about mass
mobilisation to challenge the Opposition. Bhujbal is perhaps the sole
important figure in the State government arguing for a clear offensive
strategy. The failure to create one could mean serious trouble for the
alliance.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1708/17080410.htm

Opinion - Leader Page Articles

Was Indian nationalism inclusive?
K.N. Panikkar

One of the weaknesses of the national movement was that it did not
have an effective programme to ensure the inclusion of the depressed
and socially excluded classes into the nation.

Inclusiveness is the catchword in the current political and economic
discourse, following the 11th Plan prescription to incorporate those
who have remained outside the margins into the mainstream of
development. This is a confession of the failure of democratic
governance, on the one hand, and of caste-class partisanship in the
process of nation building, on the other. It also testifies that a
substantial section has not yet come under the ‘benevolent' umbrella
of the nation. In a highly differentiated society, inclusiveness is
indeed a process which takes place in three ways: politically through
common struggles, socially by overcoming internal social barriers and
culturally by identifying a common past by invoking indigenous
cultural consciousness.

The attempt at inclusiveness is riven with internal contradictions,
which account for the complexity, weaknesses and limitations of the
inclusive process and tensions within nationalism. The concept of
nationalism, in the Indian colonial context, becomes meaningful only
when looked at beyond the overarching relationship between colonialism
and the people, and the mutual relationship among different segments
of society is taken into account. Overcoming these differences was
integral to nationalism.

Inclusiveness, therefore, is a necessary strategy of nationalism, even
with contradictory interests finding a place in it. The attempts to
resolve the secondary contradiction within the umbrella of nationalism
do not overlook the primary contradiction with colonialism. In this
sense, the aim of nationalism was not limited to the attainment of
freedom but, as Gandhiji envisaged, had to lead to the creation of a
qualitatively different society, devoid of caste and religious
antagonism. To a deputation of students in 1934, Gandhiji said: “The
two things — the social reordering and the fight for political swaraj
— must go hand in hand. There can be no question of precedence or
division into watertight compartments here.” Nationalism was thus
conceived as a combination of political freedom and social
emancipation.

What nationalism sought to achieve was togetherness. The very first
session of the Indian National Congress recognised it by identifying
its purpose as providing a platform for people to come together. What
brought people together were political struggles and public
agitations. The various streams within the movement with different
strategies and modes of struggles were efforts to ensure their
rightful inclusion in the nation. People, however, consisted of
diverse groups, castes, classes and religions with widely differing
interests. What was conceived as nationalism, therefore, was bringing
the people together, regardless of the differentiations. Although the
anti-colonial sentiment ironed out some of these differences and
interests, they were so diverse and sharp that the national movement,
functioning within a liberal framework, was not able to find an
effective solution. Therefore, India emerged not only impoverished due
to colonial exploitation but also socially divided.

That India was economically backward was not surprising, but the fact
that nationalism did not succeed in ushering in social and cultural
solidarity left a deep scar. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, architect of the
Constitution, underlined this failure in 1949: “We must make our
political democracy a social democracy as well. Political democracy
cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy… What
does social democracy mean? It means a way of life which recognises
liberty, equality and fraternity as the principle of life … On the
26th of January 1950 we are going to enter into a life of
contradiction. In politics we will have equality and in social and
economic life, we will have inequality.” While pointing out the
political success of the movement by which ‘people' became members of
a nation-state with democratic rights, Dr. Ambedkar was conscious that
nationalism did not succeed in creating inclusiveness in the social,
cultural and economic domains.

The roots of this failure can be traced to the early phase of national
awakening, which suffered from a disjunction between political and
socio-cultural struggles. To begin with, the renaissance which
prepared the ground for the emergence of nationalism dissociated
itself from political problems and, therefore, was unable to provide a
critique of colonialism which warped the nature of Indian modernity.
Most of the early renaissance leaders idealised development in the
West. Hence, their ability to envision an alternative was limited.
Later on, the national movement attributed primacy to political
struggles, despite Gandhiji's constructive programme and
untouchability campaign. Although both he and Tagore advocated the
importance of cultural politics, the national movement concentrated
its energies on political mobilisation.

Despite these early limitations, the importance of incorporating the
marginalised sections and thus creating an inclusive society was on
the agenda of nationalism. The different political formations which
participated in anti-colonial struggles with different programmes and
different social base were engaged in incorporating different sections
into the mainstream of national life through participation in the anti-
colonial struggles. Even when contradictions existed among them, they
were struggling for inclusiveness in the nation. The social and
cultural inclusiveness was sought through socio-cultural emancipation,
economic inclusiveness through class struggles and political
inclusiveness through political mobilisation. These three engagements
of the national movement cover the history of the liberation struggle
which was not limited to a direct confrontation with colonialism, but
also aimed at the modernisation and democratisation of society
although with limited success.

A major concern of the national movement was social inclusiveness. The
divisive and oppressive character of the Indian caste system was
antithetical to the spirit of nationalism and it was quite natural
that only social awakening could address this question. Gandhiji gave
equal, if not greater, importance to social issues and cultural
struggles. In Gandhian programme, therefore, abolition of
untouchability occupied a central concern. The ashrams Gandhiji set up
and lived in became a symbol of social equality and also meant a
subversion of the traditional, unequal social system.

The national movement was quite conscious of the importance of
inclusion of the traditionally deprived groups for the actual
realisation of the nation and initiated steps in social, economic and
cultural fields to create conditions conducive for them to identify
their interest with the nation. In pursuance of that, a series of
struggles was conducted covering social, cultural and economic lives.
Each one of them had the effect of creating a community, eventually
forming a part of the nation. Although these struggles increased their
social consciousness, none of them was sufficiently effective to
transform the life conditions of the marginalised, possibly because
these efforts were bridled by the interests of the ‘upper' castes and
classes. The marginalised sections, could not, therefore, identify
themselves with the nation. They were sceptical and distrustful.

The consequence of this marginality was the emergence of movements
among the traditionally subordinated groups fighting to gain their
rightful place in society. That happened in all parts of the country
and among all depressed communities. Satyasodak Samaj in Maharashtra
in the 19th century, the Dravida Kazhakam in Tamil Nadu, the Sadhu
Jana Paripalana Sabha in Kerala and, indeed, the movement led by Dr.
Ambedkar are some examples. Emerging out of the oppressed sections,
they did not subscribe to the ‘upper' caste urge for reform, of either
caste or religion, but stood for abolishing caste and superstitions
based on religious sanction. In the vision of Dr. Ambedkar, the
annihilation of caste was a necessary pre-requisite for social
inclusiveness.

One of the weaknesses of the national movement was that it did not
have an effective programme to ensure the inclusion of the depressed
and socially excluded classes into the nation. Whatever was attempted
in this field was very superficial inasmuch as it did not frontally
contest the power of the ‘upper' castes and classes, the legacy of
which continues even today. That anti-colonial Indian nationalism was
not sufficiently inclusive is possibly one of the reasons why a
substantial section of the population is still not a part of the
nation.

The making of the Indian nation, as Surendranath Banerji envisioned,
can be complete only when nationalism becomes inclusive on a
democratic, secular and socialist foundation. In post-independent
India, this has remained an unrealised dream. Given the capitalist
hegemony over society and middle-class control over administration,
the present urge for inclusion may yet end up as another popular
slogan.

(Based on the Foundation Day lecture delivered at Assam Central
University, Silchar. Author can be reached at knpan...@gmail.com)

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 23, 2010

http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/23/stories/2010022355540800.htm

THe Lord’s Army: The Shiv Sena
Posted March 30th 2010 at 5:36 pm by Harry

"A burning bus? Perhaps over there."

There exists in Mumbai a nearsighted and rather unpleasant bunch of
radicals who revile my very existence within their beautiful city.
They are the Shiv Sena – Lord Shiva’s Army – a political group by
name, violently quarrelsome by nature.

It behooves a writer to remain apprised of the legal ramifications of
writing anything at all in India, because sedition laws are
arbitrarily enforced and rather ambiguously defined as anything that
“excites or attempts to excite hatred contempt or dissaffection“( -
Wikipedia)

If anyone reading this gets excited or feels a smidge of contempt,
then I’m going to jail for life – so please don’t. Sedition, in my
opinion, is the most dangerous law in India – for exposure of real
wrongs often leads detention or expulsion, as was the case with my
friend who wrote of the Dalit murders in Gujarat and was summarily
deported.

Let’s be mindful of that and carry on…

Bal Thackeray started the Shiv Sena and ran for a while a respectable
right-wing, religious political party concerned with supporting the
local Marathi people in whose state Mumbai stands. He was about
ensuring jobs, health systems, pensions and education exclusively to
Marathis, his ‘Sons of the Soil’.

They have a hard-line Hindu and regional agenda, and dislike all
things non-Marathi – including shop signs spelled in English.

The Shiv Sena love whacking day

Bal’s son Uddhav Thackeray took over the Shiv Sena which used to riot
against migrant workers from other states, bash North Indian rickshaw
drivers and the like, pelt stones at police headquarters, voice
support for accused Hindu terrorists, they’ve smashed shops and torn
down billboards and generally caused a ruckus in order to get in the
media, at which point they invariably react against the channel for
the negative coverage. It’s a wonderful self-perpetuating cycle.

The Shiv Sena started going mainstream to gain support from a larger
nationwide Hindu party, the BJP – which meant they had to stop bashing
migrants (but not necessarily Muslisms). As a result, Bal’s nephew Raj
Thackeray started a splinter organisation seeking more radical reforms
– they are called the ‘Marathi Manoos’ – the MNS.

So now there are two crews both seeking votes from the same people,
they attract attention to themselves by engaging in more and more
brazen public displays of brute power – often leading to in-fighting
between the two groups.

The BJP: Perhaps education should be higher on their agenda

Then the BJP lost a national election, probably because they were
corrupt and their policies were near-sighted and focused more on
oppressing Muslims than running the country…

So the BJP and the Shiv Sena rioted against Australians for being such
prejudiced and bigoted violent morons. They were helped along by the
Indian media, which much prefers to be spoon-fed its sensationalist
propaganda rather than doing real reporting.

Funny thing that only a few months before, the same group were beating
North Indians for migrating to Mumbai, and now they’re upset because
North Indians are being beaten in Australia. The group that revile
outsiders and assault newcomers are also angry when degenerate,
disorganised, drunk youths in Australia do exactly the same thing. Are
they scared their jobs have been outsourced?

Now they’re back to being racist: The Manoos want all us foreign
actors out of Bollywood – get this: Because we’re stealing Indian
jobs. I have not yet met an Indian that can do my job, because my job
is to be not Indian. I’m not a particularly exceptional actor, I’m not
wildly attractive, I’m not even that skilled, I don’t dance or sing.
I’m a single-threat: I’m just white. Who’s job do I steal?

Make up your minds, which do you despise: Racism or foreigners?

Their current claim is against Hazel Crowney because they claim she’s
dancing in a provocative way that Indian girls wouldn’t, and tugging
at the threads of Indian moral fibre. It’s clear that they know this
already, but you might not: Indian movies don’t show sexy white girls
flouncing about because Indian girls won’t do it, they show foreigners
because that’s what Indians like to watch. The women watch it and
think: “Ugh, sluts” and the men pitch pants tents – behaviour neither
gender like to associate with good Indian girls.

Indian girls will do a multitude of things to get their beautiful,
sensual bodies onto the big screen – and dancing provocatively
definitely comes under that broad and intentionally ambiguous banner.
Rakhi Sawant started the protest, but clearly her interests aren’t
value-based:

Hazel Crowney: They're calling for her head

Rakhi Sawant: Principled instigator

Tell me again – which Indian values were they protecting?

The Shiv Sena recently charged onto the set of a shoot for the film
‘Crooked’, and demanded to see employment visas from the 136
foreigners on the shoot. I know every Bollywood Gora that has a visa –
and there ain’t 136 of us. Bollywood runs on making its scenes exotic
and foreign with cheap tourist labour extras. It can’t run without
them.

These riots will serve to send more films overseas to shoot to avoid
them, taking money right out of the pockets of all Mumbaikars who
drive and light and serve chai and food to those who paint sets and
clothe Bollywood. Their campaign would be short-sighted and flawed, if
it were legitimately aimed at improving the lives of Marathis – but it
isn’t, it’s aimed at getting publicity – and it’s working.

I love this country – but sometimes it gives me the shits (pun
intended).

Perhaps it is me.

Perhaps my desire to become a part of the Indian fabric is mislaid. I
had always seen India’s best values were the welcoming and inclusive
nature of the people, how peaceful they are. I’d always felt that the
laid-back, near-enough’s good enough, slow life seemed more ecological
than ours – far more interested in things like a good laugh, an
engaging (and intrusive) conversation or even silent company. They’ll
stare, they’ll care, they’ll help even if they can’t.

This country holds the greatest potential of all on this earth. With
some tweaks to turn the knowledge based education system to teach
skills, a good corruption enema and a bit of cultural progression (in
terms of womens rights and that stuff) – it will be the next
superpower. Indians almost always speak more languages than you do,
speak English better than you do, they wrap their agile brains around
new languages, new concepts and new ideas with envy-inspiring speed,
they have open hearts and kind minds, and there are a billion of them.

That was what I thought India was about, generosity, hospitality and
intelligence – but apparently these guys are the last word on what’s
Indian and according to them it’s all about the violence, stupidity
and racism.

Perhaps it’s time for me to move on.

http://www.harrykey.com/blogs/the-lords-army-shiv-sena/

Congress and BJP in tussle over Big B as CWG brand ambassador

Congress too has started playing cheap political games. Amitabh
Bachchan is their target and all for the sin of getting some unasked
for BJP attention. Now Kalmadi has even dropped Amitabh as an option
for CWG brand ambassador.

CJ: Shubhra Prakash Tue, Mar 30, 2010 21:21:29 IST
Views: 13 Comments: 1Rate: 0.0 / 0 votes

KEEPING INTACT its posture of cold shouldering the Bachchans, the
Congress once again entered in a row with Amitabh Bachchan becoming a
brand ambassador of the up coming Common Wealth Games. Suresh Kalmadi,
Congress MP and the Chairman of Commonwealth Games Organizing
Committee said that they would need a young Brand Ambassador to
promote the game.

The decision came as a backlash when BJP leader and also the vice-
president of Indian Olympic Association suggested Bachchan's name as
an ambassador for the event in a letter to Kalmadi.
The 'Bachchan parivar' is under fire from Congress party leaders ever
since he came to inaugurate a lane on the Mumbai Sea Link. The matter
stretched up to a limit that on the Earth Hour Day in Delhi the video
carrying a message from Abhishek Bachchan was blacked out as also the
posters of the actor from the venue.

At both the events Congress party leaders like Ashok Chavan and Sheila
Dikshit were present maintaining a hush over the happenings. The state
of events has popped up in the backdrop of Amitabh Bachchan agreeing
to promote tourism for the BJP ruled Gujarat.

While the war of words is on between the Bachchan's led by BJP and
Congress. Manish Tiwari, a Congress MP has suggested that it is high
time that Amitabh Bachchan clears his stand on Modi and the Gujarat
government.

Posted comments (1) Mr. Kalmadi is absolutely right. Actually
government (Delhi/Center) needs to re-think about this, how an old man
could like Mr. Kalmadi/non-sports, declared as Commonwealth Games
Organizing Committee chairman. Not only in Commonwealth, but also we
don't need any oldies like Delhi's CM Mrs. Dixit, BCCI Chief Mr.
Power, and so on….

http://www.merinews.com/article/congress-and-bjp-in-tussle-over-big-b-as-cwg-brand-ambassador/15802591.shtml

Will Dawood’s facing law be a favour? Congress asks BJP
By IANS
March 30th, 2010

NEW DELHI - The Congress Tuesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) for lauding Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s appearance
before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the 2002 Gujarat
riots, and asked if underworld fugitive Dawood Ibrahim will be doing a
favour by facing the law.

“The BJP is projecting it (Modi’s appearance before SIT) as if it is a
favour to the judicial system. If Dawood Ibrahim is brought before the
law, will he be doing a favour?” Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said
reporters here.

He said the BJP was talking in “an immature manner”.

Tewari said that Modi had to face the SIT because he had not followed
“rajdharam (his duty as a ruler)”.

On the BJP’s criticism over party president Sonia Gandhi having been
again made National Advisory Council chairperson, Tewari said that she
could have become prime minister in 2004 and 2009 but chose not to
take the high office.

“Her entire public life is characterised by one principle, that of
sacrifice,” he said.

Tewari noted that NAC had worked for some path-breaking legislations
during its previous term, among these the Right to Information Act,
the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Gram Nyayalaya
Act.

The BJP said Tuesday that Gandhi’s appointment as chairperson of the
NAC had created a “psuedo-constitutional power centre” which would
lead to “redundancy” of the post of the prime minister

http://blog.taragana.com/politics/2010/03/30/will-dawoods-facing-law-be-a-favour-congress-asks-bjp-26164/

Sonia to again head National Advisory Council (Second Lead)
By IANS
March 29th, 2010

NEW DELHI - Congress president Sonia Gandhi was Monday again named
chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC), four years after
she quit on being accused of holding an office of profit.

“She will hold the rank and status of union cabinet minister with
immediate effect. The salary, allowances and other terms and
conditions of the chairperson and members shall be such as the
government may specify from time to time,” an official statement
said.

Her term will begin from the date she assumes charge, it said.

“It will be co-terminus with the term of the NAC or until further
orders whichever is earlier. The chairperson shall be entitled to the
same salary, pay, allowances and other facilities to which a member of
the union council of ministers is entitled.”

According to the statement, the term of NAC members will be for one
year but this could be extended. They will draw salary and allowances
determined by the central government.

Gandhi had resigned from the NAC in March 2006 after the opposition
alleged that she had violated the office of profit principle requiring
MPs not to hold offices that carry wages, salaries or allowances
during their tenures. She had also resigned her Lok Sabha seat of Rae
Bareli but won it back in a re-election.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government subsequently came up
with a bill seeking to exempt 56 posts, including the NAC chairperson,
from being considered as office of profit. The bill was approved in
May 2006 by parliament amid opposition by the Bharatiya Janata Party-
led opposition.

The NAC was first formed during the earlier tenure of UPA government
and had played a role in the enactment of Right to Information Act,
Forest Rights Act and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

The reconstituted NAC is expected to take up the food security bill
over which there are differences between social activists and the
government. The activists, some of whom were part of the previous NAC,
have differed with the government on draft food security bill cleared
by the cabinet, saying its provisions were “minimalist”.

The reconstituted NAC is also expected to keep a watch on the existing
flagship welfare schemes such as the rural employment guarantee
programme and scrutinise other proposed legislations dealing with
social sector.

http://blog.taragana.com/politics/2010/03/29/sonia-to-again-head-national-advisory-council-second-lead-26044/

BJP says people will make Sonia Gandhi resign as NAC chief
By ANI
March 30th, 2010

NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has cried foul over
Congress President Sonia Gandhi again taking charge as the head of the
National Advisory Council (NAC).

BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay said this time the people of the country
would make Gandhi resign from her post.

“It has been a history of the Congress party to hold an office of
profit while being an MP. Last time, it was a show by Sonia Gandhi of
‘tyag’, but the fact is that under the pressure of whole country, she
had to resign,” said Vijay.

“This time also, the people of this country will make her resign from
this post,” he added.

The Union Government on Monday constituted the National Advisory
Council (NAC), which will be headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi
as its Chairperson.

She will hold the rank and status of Union Cabinet Minister with
immediate effect.

The term of appointment of the Chairperson of the NAC will be with
effect from the date of assuming charge of the office as the
Chairperson.

It will be co-terminus with the term of the NAC or until further
orders which ever is earlier.

The term of the members of the NAC shall be for a period of one year
with effect from the date of their appointment, which may be extended.

The Chairperson of the NAC shall be entitled to the same salary, pay,
allowances and other facilities to which a member of the Union Council
of Minister is entitled.

Under the special provision for a Member of Parliament appointed as
the member of the NAC, it has been provided that the member shall not
be entitled to draw any remuneration, allowances or perks as such
member from the NAC other than the compensatory allowance as defined
in clause (a) of the section 2 of the Parliament (Prevention of
Disqualification) Act, 1959.

Sonia Gandhi quit the NAC in March 2006 after the BJP- led Opposition
alleged that she had violated the office of profit principle.

Gandhi had also resigned from her Lok Sabha seat. But later despite
winning the Rae Bareilly by poll, she kept herself away from the NAC.
(ANI)

http://blog.taragana.com/politics/2010/03/30/bjp-says-people-will-make-sonia-gandhi-resign-as-nac-chief-26109/

BJP MLAs marshalled out of Delhi Assembly
By ANI
March 29th, 2010

NEW DELHI - Amidst high drama 22 Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs were
marshalled out of the Delhi Assembly on Monday, for trooping into the
Well and sloganeering against the price rise and demanding a roll back
of subsidy cut on LPG and increase in VAT on various items.

As soon as the House assembled, the Leader of Opposition V K Malhotra
raised the price rise issue.

He demanded a clarification from Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on the
use of water canons by police during a protest rally near the
Assembly.

Several BJP activists, including Municipal Council of Delhi (MCD)
members, were injured during the incident.

Soon, all the BJP MLAs started sloganeering and gathered before the
Speaker’s podium.

Speaker Yoganand Shastri had to adjourn the House for 15 minutes when
he failed to convince opposition members to calm down and resume their
seats.

When the House met again after 15 minutes, all BJP MLAs trooped to the
Well and sloganeered again.

Speaker Shastri tried to pacify the members, but when they continued
their protests, he asked marshals to remove senior BJP members H S
Balli, Karan Singh Tanwar, Ravindra Bansal, Subhash Sachdeva and Harsh
Vardhan from the House.

After their removal, BJP MLAs continued with their sloganeering
forcing Shastri to name the BJP MLAs one by one and ask marshals to
remove them from the House.

After all the MLAs had left, Malhotra said he was the only opposition
legislator present and asked that he be thrown out also.

The BJP members continued their protests outside the Assembly and
courted arrest. (ANI)

http://blog.taragana.com/politics/2010/03/29/bjp-mlas-marshalled-out-of-delhi-assembly-26024/

BJP warns against talks with Taliban
By IANSMarch 29th, 2010

NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday asked the
government to explain if India was planning to talk to the Taliban, as
suggested by some media reports, and warned against any compromise
with anti-India elements.

“If true, as the report suggests, the shift in Indias Afghan policy
must be explained to the people and the foreign minister must answer
the raison dtre of showing a willingness to have a dialogue with the
regressive elements, said Tarun Vijay, BJP spokesperson.

These elements, Vijay pointed out, have been working for Pakistan’s
Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and their anti-India operations
“have bled us for the last two years”.

Vijay was alluding to media reports which quoted government sources
saying that India wanted to reach out to Taliban leader Gulbuddin
Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami and keep its doors open in case of a
reconciliation effort by the Taliban.

Warning against the pitfalls of such a dialogue with blood thirsty
elements”, Vijay stressed: Talking to Taliban reverses all that India
has stood for so far.

“They are Osamas men, they push their women behind veils and stop them
from going to schools, their world is a world of darkness, far removed
from that of democracy and pluralism, bringing the society to medieval
ages.

“Indian strategy, if there exists one for Afghanistan and Pakistan
must be primarily to safeguard Indian interests and to ensure
annihilation of anti-Indian terror groups, he said.

Accusing the government of failure in getting access to David Coleman
Headley, an American-Pakistani accused of plotting the Mumbai attacks,
and pursuing a “meaningless dialogue” with Pakistan under US pressure,
Vijay contended that engaging the Taliban comes as another shocking
feature of UPA’s unending compromises with the anti-India elements”.

India has refused to recognise any distinction between the good and
bad Taliban, but has indicated that it could support reintegration of
the Taliban in the Afghan mainstream provided they agree to renounce
violence and abide by the Afghan constitution.

The Indian government is, however, opposed to any reconciliation with
the Taliban to bring them into the political structure. India had
agreed to go along with the reintegration proposal endorsed at the Jan
28 London conference, but is wary of any deal that could reinstall a
medieval and anti-New Delhi regime in Kabul.

http://blog.taragana.com/politics/2010/03/29/bjp-warns-against-talks-with-taliban-26014/

Modi’s Taliban comments a frustrated outburst: Congress
By IANS
March 29th, 2010

NEW DELHI - The Congress Monday hit back at Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi for his “Taliban” comments, saying it was a “frustrated”
outburst after his long questioning by the Special Investigation Team
(SIT) over the 2002 riots.

“Modi is feeling very frustrated because for the first time, a chief
minister was made to stand before the Special Investigating Team for
about 10 hours in a question and answer session,” Union Information
and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said on the sidelines of a
Congress Seva Dal function here.

Responding to questions about Modi describing those critical of
Amitabh Bachchan’s decision to be brand ambassador of Gujarat as
Talibans of public life in his blog, Soni said Modi should not use the
word Taliban in a “light and flippant manner” as those who had lived
under the rule of the fundamentalists know what it is like. She said
Modi should make statements only after due deliberation.

Modi wrote in his blog that “a great artist with legendary humility
and even taller achievements” like Amitabh Bachchan has “chosen to
celebrate the glorious heritage of Gujarat while facing a lot of
criticisms”.

“These people, while brandishing Mahatma Gandhi’s name are busy
creating a new viciousness in the flow of our public life. These
‘Talibans of Untouchability’ have lost all their sensibilities in
their pursuit of anti-Gujarat attitudes,” he said.

Congress leaders in Maharashtra had protested over the presence of
Bachchan at the inauguration of the Bandra-Worli seak link extension
function last week, saying they were upset over “his association with
Modi”.

Bachchan had accepted Modi’s offer to be the brand ambassador of the
state.

http://blog.taragana.com/politics/2010/03/29/modis-taliban-comments-a-frustrated-outburst-congress-26009/

Chaos in Rajasthan Assembly over Rathore’s expulsion
By ANI
March 19th, 2010

JAIPUR - Chaos took place inside the Rajasthan Assembly on Friday when
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs got into a brawl with marshals
inside the House over the expulsion of BJP leader Rajendra Rathore.

At least three BJP leaders were injured in the incident, when they
clashed with the marshals attempting to control the situation.

They were protesting against Rathore’s expulsion. (ANI)

http://blog.taragana.com/politics/2010/03/19/chaos-in-rajasthan-assembly-over-rathores-expulsion-24281/

Varun targets Maya, Rahul, calls cow slaughter crime
By Sarwar Kashani, IANSMarch 29th, 2010

SAHARANPUR - Bharatiya Janata Party MP Varun Gandhi delivered a fiery
speech here Monday, calling for a ban on cow slaughter. He also
targeted Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and his cousin Rahul
Gandhi whom he called a “handsome face”.

Hundreds of men, women and even children sweated it out to listen to
the 30-year-old Gandhi’s 20-minute high voltage speech at Gandhi Park
- his first public rally after being appointed the BJP secretary this
month.

The MP from Pilibhit called for a “more intense war” against cow
slaughter. “It is a social crime. It is a legal crime. Why don’t you
wake up and fight this more intense war against cow slaughter? It is
not for Hindus only, but for the nation’s pride,” he said.

“Jai shri ram” was his slogan. And the crowd of men, women and
children, some of whom had been waiting since 8 a.m., repeatedly
responded likewise.

“I know people in western Uttar Pradesh don’t compromise with self-
esteem. I am asking you, don’t stay calm, don’t tolerate. Wake up and
fight. I want warriors in my troupe, who can fight for your self-
esteem.”

Gandhi, who stirred a political storm with a communal speech during
the Lok Sabha election campaign last year, this time chose to weigh
his words carefully.

The young BJP leader thundered: “If somebody targets my mother, what
would I do? I will stand and save her, isn’t it? Likewise, you should
get up, gather and save our mother cow.”

He criticised Mayawati over her garlands of currency notes and said
the cash should have been used for the welfare of poor farmers and
unemployed youth of Uttar Pradesh instead.

“But don’t worry, two more years to go,” he said, pointing to the 2012
assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh which, he added, the BJP was
confident of winning.

“Then there is another party which has young handsome faces. They have
a mission, but don’t worry, we will win,” he said, referring clearly
to his estranged cousin Rahul Gandhi and the Congress.

“I know, I am also on this stage with my Gandhi surname. Had I been
Varun Chowdhury or Sharma, I would not have been here. But this name
comes with responsibility, responsibility towards the poor, towards
you,” he said.

Fighting for the poor of the nation is a long struggle that people
from “well-off families” are not interested in, he said. “I want to
produce at least one lakh Varun Gandhis who will fight that war,” he
said.

http://blog.taragana.com/politics/2010/03/29/varun-targets-maya-rahul-calls-cow-slaughter-crime-26003/

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike elections: It's advantage BJP
Hemant Kumar / DNA
Wednesday, March 31, 2010 8:43 IST

Bangalore: The exit polls and the pre-poll surveys may have predicted
a hung house in the 198-seat BBMP council, but the BJP is not worried.

And they have a good reason to be happy. A tally of 96 seats is good
enough for the BJP to reach the magic figure of 125, while the
Congress, which is warming up to the JD(S), needs to score 108 to have
its man as the mayor.

With MLAs, MLCs and MPs from Bangalore being part of the BBMP council,
any aspirant for the mayor’s post would need at least 125 votes.
Sitting MLAs, MLCs and MPs from constituencies falling under the BBMP
jurisdiction have the voting right to elect a mayor in the BBMP
council. The BJP already has 29 such captive votes in the form of its
city MLAs, MLCs and MPs. So all it needs is just 96 seats to reach the
magic figure of 125 to grab the mayor’s post.

The JD(S) has just 4 captive votes. However, the Congress and JD(S)
together could spoil BJP’s plans. But it is a tall order as the
combine would have to bag at least 104 of the 198 seats. “We are
comfortably placed. Even under the worst situation of BJP winning just
about 88 or 90 seats, we can have our way as all that we need is the
support of just a few independents,” said BJP city unit spokesman S
Prakash.

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bruhat-bengaluru-mahanagara-palike-elections-it-s-advantage-bjp_1365549

Congress practising fascism: BJP
Special Correspondent

“Modi has proved his critics wrong”

“Congress only making half-hearted attempts to interrogate Headley”

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Sunday accused the Congress of practising
fascism by the kind of its attack against actor Amitabh Bachchan and
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress was increasingly betraying signs of frustration with each
of its attempt to tarnish the Opposition parties and leaders going in
vain, the BJP said.

The Congress was unabashedly practising untouchability and targeting
the Bachchan family only because it had differences with “one Congress
family,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said. “The entire party
and even its State governments are keen not even to be seen on one
platform with him.”

The the Bandra-Worli sea link belonged to people and not to “that
family” or the Congress. The withdrawal of invitation to Mr.
Bachchan's son by the Delhi Chief Minister and violence indulged by
Congressmen, tearing posters and banners, was condemnable, Ms.
Sitharaman said.

The country had not forgotten the way noted singer Kishore Kumar was
targeted during the Emergency when All India Radio banned his songs
for almost a whole year, she said.

Ms. Sitharaman charged the Congress with encouraging and rewarding Mr.
Modi's baiters in a bid to defame a duly elected Chief Minister. She
warned that this misplaced energies of the Congress would spell danger
to the country.

Mr. Modi had proved his critics wrong by displaying his responsibility
and cooperating with the SIT (Special Investigation Team) and
underlining his belief that the Constitution and the law of the land
were supreme, she said.

The Congress was only making half-hearted attempts to interrogate
Lashkar operative David Headley. No attempt was being made to
interrogate him and one attempt had even shamefully failed, she said.

The BJP accused the UPA of not showing any enthusiasm in implementing
the Supreme Court verdict on hanging Afzal Guru “though he is a proven
offender against India.”

http://www.thehindu.com/2010/03/29/stories/2010032955371300.htm

BJP govt protected anti-socials: Dhariwal
TNN, Mar 31, 2010, 05.14am IST

JAIPUR: Discussion on crime in the city rocked the House on Tuesday
when home minister Shanti Dhariwal, while answering a question,
alleged that the erstwhile BJP government had given protection to anti-
socials.

BJP whip Rajendra Rathore immediately registered a protest and was was
joined by deputy leader of Opposition Ghanshyam Tiwari and former home
minister Gulab Chand Kataria.

Claiming personal responsibility in the event the former BJP
government had protected any criminal Kataria said, "I was the home
minister then and if anyone was protected then I am responsibile but
can the home minister cite any example to prove his allegation or give
the names of such criminals."

Tiwari, on the other hand, blamed Dhariwal personally for the rising
incidents of crime in the city.

The hullabaloo arose after BJP MLA Nirmal Kumawat had inquired on the
number of cases registered in the state between January 2009 and
December 2009. Kumawat also wanted to know how many such cases were
registered in Phulera and if Jaipur had registered a rise in the
crime.

"The state has registered 1,66,565 cases between January 2009 and
December 2009, out of which in 9,5397 cases challans have been filed
in court," the minister said.

He added that Jaipur South had registered the maximum rise in crime
rate with 686 cases amounting to 12.62%. The zone, as compared to
5,435 cases in 2008, has seen 6,121 cases till December 2009. Next
came Jaipur North for which the figures for 2009 stands at 3,905
compared to 3,517 in 2008 ---- an increase of 11.03% with 388 cases.

Jaipur East recorded 6,762 cases in 2009 compared to 6,455 in 2008, an
increase of 307 cases at 4.76% while Jaipur rural has seen the least
increase at 0.01% with figures of 9,052 in 2009 as compared to 9051 in
2008.

"Therefore on an average Jaipur has registered an increase of 5.65%
while Rajasthan has seen a increase of 10.10% which is well below the
average of other states at 15.7 %," the minister said.

However, Kumawat, who had asked the question, stated if the negligible
rise in Jaipur rural is taken into account then Jaipur city has seen
10% rise in the crime rate.

Dhariwal explained the increase in crime figures are due to reasons
like an increase population ,in powers of the land mafia, tourism
mafia, Lapkas, unemployment, horizontal growth of the city, the
linking of Jaipur with the broad gauge rail lines, increase in land
prices, increase in the number of vehicles, immigration from other
states etc.

"In fact, it is because of the fact that the previous government had
given protection to criminals that such a situation has arisen today,"
he said.

That was enough to incite the Opposition and the blame game began.
While the BJP wanted the minister to table the names of such
criminals, Dhariwal continued with his allegations.

In another question related to rising crime in Jaipur, Dhariwal
claimed in comparison to 2007 crime had plunged in 2008. However, in
2009 there has again been a rise in the crime rate specially in cases
like attempted murder, loot, theft though cases like dacoity and armed
robbery has seen a decline.

But the minister refused to acknowledge that on the whole there has
been an increase in crime in the city.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/BJP-govt-protected-anti-socials-Dhariwal/articleshow/5744879.cms

http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/f9b738e079fef9fb/ab46d74ab84d4ea3

...and I am Sid Harth

Message has been deleted

and/or www.mantra.com/jai

unread,

Mar 31, 2010, 10:15:06 AM3/31/10

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

http://www.gujaratriots.com/

Myths of Gujarat Riots

http://www.gujaratriots.com

http://gujaratriots.com/7/myth-1-2000-muslims-were-killed-in-the-gujarat-riots/

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Thuggee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thuggee (or tuggee, ठग्गी ṭhagī) (from Hindi ठग ṭhag ‘thief’, from
Sanskrit स्थग sthaga ‘cunning’, ‘sly’, ‘fraudulent’, ‘dishonest’,
‘scoundrel’, from स्थगति sthagati ‘he conceals’)[1] is the term for a
particular kind of murder and robbery of travellers in India.

Thuggery

The English word "thug" comes from the Hindi word "thag", meaning
"conman". It is one of many Indian words borrowed into English during
the British colonial period. The English connotation of 'thug' is
synonymous with terms like hoodlum and hooligan, indicating a person
(who may or may not be anti-social) who harasses others, usually for
hire.[citation needed] People regarded as thugs might commit assault
(or 'menace'), battery, even robbery and grievous bodily harm, but
they usually stop short of murder. Additionally, "thugs" usually
travel in pairs, though they can work alone or in groups of four to
six members, and are typically open about their presence (except to
law enforcement officials); while "Thuggee" were covert and operated
as members of a group, often called a "Thuggee cult" by the British.
Hence, the word "Thuggee" is capitalised while the word "thug" usually
is not; which enables distinction of a "Thug" (here, a short form of
"Thuggee") from a "thug".

In the heyday of Thuggee activity, travellers were typically part of a
travelling group, so the term Thuggee typically referred to killing of
a large number of people in a single operation. This aspect
distinguishes Thuggee from similar concept of dacoity, which means
simple armed robbery.

Dacoity has similarities with the terms brigand and bandit from
European and Latin American experience, but there appear to be no
exact Western parallels for Thuggee. Perhaps the closest concepts
would be the format of piracy, though this is solely maritime robbery
(usually with murder), and the earlier, but similar, format of raids
on coastal settlements by Viking seafarers. Some aspects, however, are
reminiscent of the Mafia group of organisations.

Between them, these classes of criminal activity illustrate some of
the mystique that attached to the Thugs and the complex mixture of
fear and dread of these murderous men that was felt by the ordinary
people who might well be their victims.

There is some question as to the extent of the religious dimension of
Thuggee. Most contemporary sources described Thuggee as being a
religious cult, but some modern sources feel it was merely a
specialized form of organized crime or paramilitary activity, with no
particular religious dimension beyond the normal piety of the
villagers from whom its members were recruited.

Time period

The concept of Thuggee is known from the 17th century, though the term
and/or activity possibly dates back as early as the 13th century.
Thuggee was actively practiced at least through the end of the 19th
century. If remnants of the Thuggee tradition survived into the 20th
and 21st centuries, they did so very covertly. The film Indiana Jones
and the Temple of Doom is based on the premise that Thuggee cults
survived covertly into the early 20th century.

Stern suppression by the British was important in reducing Thuggee
activity but more significant was the introduction of modern methods
of travel, in particular the displacement of travelling on foot or by
horse in groups by the railway, which effectively rendered Thuggee
obsolete.

The nature

The particular groups, as well as the general concept, were often
equally durable and would outlive the 'careers' of individual members
to develop into a crime family lasting generations. These groups
progressed from being simple gangs into becoming 'fraternities' or
even 'cults', featuring the initiation of new members, either through
the heredity of a criminal underclass, or through an apprenticeship,
such as normally associated with skilled or learned professions or the
training programs of elite military units. Other sources describe the
Thugs as a criminal 'tribe' or caste. Over the course of generations,
the secrets must be kept within the 'family'. The marriage of
offspring within the group both safeguards the secret knowledge,
allowing it to be imparted steadily to the children without the risk
of uninitiated neighbours overhearing, and reinforces the exclusive
and selective nature of the organisation. This preserves the mystique,
which is in itself part of the formula of success, and creates an
elite aura around it. At the moment of attack, the sudden revelation
of the identity of the assailants produces a shock that disables
defensive manoeuvres, at least for a few, vital moments, while the
reputation for invincibility engenders a defeatism that results in a
fait accompli.

The practice

Thugs were active all over the Bengal region of the Indian
subcontinent. Maps showing the possessions of the British East India
Company in 1765 and 1805Thuggee is described as a cult of people
engaged in the multiple murder and robbery of travelers. At the time,
most travelers in India would travel in caravan for mutual support and
security, since travel meant the crossing of difficult terrain before
the coming of metalled roads, the passing among different races,
religions and castes, at a period before police forces were formed. In
order to attempt the massacre of an entire caravan, the Thugs needed
to be numerous and well-coordinated. They also needed to be
sufficiently stealthy, at least in the early stages, to begin their
slaughter without rousing all at once. This required a high degree of
planning, organization – including props and patter – timing, teamwork
and discipline. With anything less than complete success a survivor
could escape to raise a hue and cry. These horrendous but
sophisticated operations lay somewhere between organized crime and
paramilitary activity and were far removed from the ordinary criminal
in the audacity, magnitude, and ruthlessness of the enterprise.

The modus operandi was to join a caravan and become accepted as bona-
fide travelers themselves. The Thugs would need to delay any attack
until their fellow travelers had dropped the initial wariness of the
newcomers and had been lulled into a false sense of security. The
Thugs first needed to befriend the travelers and win their trust. Once
the travelers had allowed the Thugs to join them and disperse amongst
them (a task which might sometimes, depending on the size of the
target group, require accompaniment for hundreds of miles), the Thugs
would wait for a suitable place and time before killing and robbing
them.

There were obviously variations on a theme. When tackling a large
group, a Thuggee band might disperse along a route and join a group in
stages, concealing their acquaintanceship, such that they could come
to outnumber their intended victims by small, non-threatening
increments. If the travelers had doubts about any one party, they
might confide their worries to another party of the same Thuggee band.
The trusted band would thus be the best placed to deal with these
members of the caravan at the appropriate time, but might also be able
to advise their colleagues to 'back off' or otherwise modify their
behavior, to allay suspicion.

The killing place would need to be remote from local observers and
suitable to prevent escape (e.g., backed against a river). Thugs
tended to develop favored places of execution, called beles. They knew
the geography of these places well—better than their victims. They
needed to, if they were to anticipate the likely escape routes and
hiding-places of the quicker-witted and more determined of the
travelers.

The timing might be at night or during a rest-break, when the
travelers would be busy with chores and when the background cries and
noise would mask any sounds of alarm. A quick and quiet method, which
left no stains and required no special weapons, was strangulation.
This method is particularly associated with Thuggee and led to the
Thugs also being referred to as the Phansigars, or "noose-operators",
and simply as "stranglers" by British troops. Usually two or three
Thugs would strangle one traveller. The Thugs would then need to
dispose of the bodies: they might bury them or might throw them into a
nearby well.[2].

The leader of a gang was called the 'jemadar': this is an ordinary
Indian word and is now used as the rank of an Army officer
(Lieutenant), who would command a similar number of men to a Thuggee
gang-leader. An English equivalent term might be 'the Boss' or 'the
Guv'nor' (Governor).

As with modern criminal gangs, each member of the group had his own
function: the equivalent of the 'hit-man,' 'the lookout,' and the
'getaway driver' would be those Thugs tasked with luring travelers
with charming words or acting as guardian to prevent escape of victims
while the killing took place.

They usually killed their victims in darkness while the thugs made
music or noise to escape discovery. If burying bodies close to a well-
traveled trade-route, they would need to disguise the 'earthworks' of
their graveyard as a camp-site, tamping down the covering mounds and
leaving some items of rubbish or remnants of a fire to 'explain' the
disturbances and obscure the burials.

One reason given for the Thuggee success in avoiding detection and
capture so often and over such long periods of time is a self-
discipline and restraint in avoiding groups of travelers on shorter
journeys, even if they seemed laden with suitable plunder. Choosing
only travelers far from home gave more time until the alarm was raised
and the distance made it less likely that colleagues would follow on
to investigate the disappearances. Another reason given is the high
degree of teamwork and co-ordination both during the infiltration
phase and at the moment of attack. This was a sophisticated criminal
elite that knew its business well and approached each 'operation' like
a military mission.

Use of garotte

The garotte is often depicted as the common weapon of the Thuggee. It
is sometimes described as a rumal (head covering or kerchief), or
translated as "yellow scarf". "Yellow" in this case may refer to a
natural cream or khaki colour rather than bright yellow. Most Indian
males in Central India or Hindustan would have a puggaree or head-
scarf, worn either as a turban or worn around a kullah and draped to
protect the back of the neck. Types of scarves were also worn as
cummerbunds, in place of a belt. Any of these items could have served
as strangling ligatures.

Religion and Thuggee

Thuggee groups might be Hindu, Sikh or Muslim, but Thuggee is
particularly associated with followers of the Hindu Goddess Kali (or
Durga), whom they often called Bhavani.[3][4][5] It was noted, even at
the time, that only a very small minority of the followers of Kali
were Thuggees. Many Thuggees worshipped Kali but most supporters of
Kali did not practise Thuggee.

Some Thuggee groups claimed descent from seven Muslim tribes[citation
needed], but the majority of Hindu followers only seem to be related
during the early periods of Islamic development through their
religious creed and staunch worship of Kali, one of the Hindu Tantric
Goddesses. At a time of political unrest, with changes from Hindu
Rajput rulers to Muslim Moghul emperors and viceroys, and possibly
back again, a wise group would display allegiance to both creeds, but
its ultimate loyalty was probably only to itself.

"There seem to have been very few Sikh Thugs. But Sahib Khan, the
Deccan strangler, 'knew Ram Sing Siek: he was a noted Thug leader - a
very shrewd man,' who also served with the Pindaris for a while and
was responsible for the assassination of the notorious Pindari leader
Sheikh Dulloo." Sleeman, Ramaseeana I, 239-40.

Some sources view the Thugs as a cult or sect. Given the extent of the
problem, in geographical scale and in the duration of time, it is
likely that many groups would wish to keep their secrets from betrayal
from within and from intrusion by outsiders and would have evolved
into secret criminal fraternities. It also follows that if they were
repeatedly successful, then they must have 'divine blessing' and would
wish to give thanks to, and worship, the deity to whom they ascribed
their support. In the West, as well, criminality and religious
observance are not always mutually incompatible.

Origin and recruitment

A group of thugs, ca. 1863The earliest recorded mention of the Thugs
as a special band or fraternity, rather than as ordinary thieves, is
found in the following passage of Ziau-d din Barni's History of Firoz
Shah (written about 1356):

In the reign of that sultan (about 1290), some Thugs were taken in
Delhi, and a man belonging to that fraternity was the means of about a
thousand being captured. But not one of these did the sultan have
killed. He gave orders for them to be put into boats and to be
conveyed into the lower country, to the neighbourhood of Lakhnauti,
where they were to be set free. The Thugs would thus have to dwell
about Lakhnauti and would not trouble the neighbourhood of Delhi any
more." (Sir HM Elliot's History of India, iii. 141).

Membership was sometimes passed from father to son, in what would now
be termed a criminal underclass. The leaders of long-established Thug
groups tended to come from these hereditary lines, as the gang
developed into a criminal 'tribe'. Other men would get to know a Thug
band and would hope to be recruited, in the way that one might aspire
to join an elite regiment or university: they were the best operators
in "the business" and, like a regiment or college fraternity, once in
the group, there was a camaraderie of numbers and shared experience.
The robbery became less a question of solving problems of poverty and
more a profession, like soldiering.

Sometimes the young children of the travelers would be spared and
groomed to become Thugs themselves, as the presence of children would
help allay suspicion. A fourth way of becoming a Thug was by training
with a guru, similar to an apprenticeship for a guild or profession,
during which the candidate could be assessed for reliability, courage,
discretion and discipline.[2]

The magnitude of the problem

Estimates of the total number of victims vary widely, depending on the
author's idea of the length of existence of the Thugs (for which there
are no reliable sources). According to the Guinness Book of Records
the Thuggee cult was responsible for approximately 2,000,000 deaths,
while British historian Dr. Mike Dash estimates that they killed
50,000 persons in total, based on his assumption that they only
started to exist 150 years before their eradication in the 1830s.

Yearly figures for the early 19th century are better documented, but
even they are inaccurate estimates. For example, gang leader Behram
has often been considered the world's most prolific serial killer,
blamed for 931 killings between 1790 and 1830. Reference to
contemporary manuscript sources, however, shows that Behram actually
gave inconsistent statements regarding the number of murders he had
committed. While he did state that he had "been present at" 931
killings committed by his gang of 25 to 50 men, elsewhere he admitted
that he had personally strangled "only" around 125 people. Having
turned King's Evidence and agreed to inform on his former companions,
furthermore, Behram never stood trial for any of the killings
attributed to him, the total of which must thus remain a matter of
dispute.[6]

Suppression

The Thuggee cult was suppressed by the British rulers of India in the
1830s.[2] The arrival of the British and their development of a
methodology to tackle crime meant the techniques of the Thugs had met
their match. Suddenly, the mysterious disappearances were mysteries no
longer and it became clear how even large caravans could be
infiltrated by apparently small groups, that were in fact acting in
concert. Once the techniques were known to all travellers, the element
of surprise was gone and the attacks became botched, until the hunters
became the hunted.

Civil servant William Henry Sleeman, superintendent, 'Thuggee and
Dacoity Dept.' in 1835, and later its Commissioner in 1839.Reasons for
British success included:

the dissemination of reports regarding Thuggee developments across
territorial borders, so that each administrator was made aware of new
techniques as soon as they were put in practice, so that travellers
could be warned and advised on possible counter-measures.
the use of King's evidence programmes gave an incentive for gang
members to inform on their peers to save their own lives. This
undermined the code of silence that protected members.
at a time when, even in Britain, policing was in its infancy, the
British set up a dedicated police force, the Thuggee Department, and
special tribunals that prevented local influence from affecting
criminal proceedings.
the police force applied the new detective methodologies to record the
locations of attacks, the time of day or circumstances of the attack,
the size of group, the approach to the victims and the behaviours
after the attacks. In this way, a single informant, belonging to one
gang in one region, might yield details that would be applicable to
most, or all, gangs in a region or indeed across all India.
The initiative of suppression was due largely to the efforts of the
civil servant William Sleeman, who started an extensive campaign
involving profiling and intelligence. A police organisation known as
the 'Thuggee and Dacoity Department' was established within the
Government of India, with William Sleeman appointed Superintendent of
the department in 1835. Thousands of men were either put in prison,
executed, or expelled from British India.[2] The campaign was heavily
based on informants recruited from captured thugs who were offered
protection on the condition that they told everything that they knew.
By the 1870s, the Thug cult was extinct, but it led to the
promulgation of the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. Although it was
repealed upon independence of India, the concept of 'criminal tribes'
and 'criminal castes' is still prevalent in India.[7][8] The
Department remained in existence until 1904, when it was replaced by
the Central Criminal Intelligence Department (CID).

Possible misinterpretation by the British and scepticism about the
existence

In her book The Strangled Traveler: Colonial Imaginings and the Thugs
of India (2002), Martine van Woerkens suggests that evidence for the
existence of a Thuggee cult in the 19th century was in part the
product of "colonial imaginings" — British fear of the little-known
interior of India and limited understanding of the religious and
social practices of its inhabitants. For a comparison, see Juggernaut
and the Black Hole of Calcutta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juggernaut
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hole_of_Calcutta

Krishna Dutta, while reviewing the book Thug: the true story of
India's murderous cult by the British historian Dr. Mike Dash in The
Independent, argues:[9]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Independent

"In recent years, the revisionist view that thuggee was a British
invention, a means to tighten their hold in the country, has been
given credence in India, France and the US, but this well-researched
book objectively questions that assertion."
In his book, Dash rejects scepticism about the existence of a secret
network of groups with a modus operandi that was different from
highwaymen, such as dacoits. To prove his point Dash refers to the
excavated corpses in graves, of which the hidden locations were
revealed to Sleeman's team by thug informants. In addition, Dash
treats the extensive and thorough documentation that Sleeman made.
Dash rejects the colonial emphasis on the religious motivation for
robbing, but instead asserts that monetary gain was the main
motivation for Thuggee and that men sometimes became Thugs due to
extreme poverty. He further asserts that the Thugs were highly
superstitious and that they worshipped the Hindu goddess Kali, but
that their faith was not very different from their contemporary non-
thugs. He admits, though, that the thugs had certain group-specific
superstitions and rituals.

Aftermath

The discovery of the thuggee was one of the main reason why the
Criminal Tribes Act was created.

In popular culture

This "In popular culture" section may contain minor or trivial
references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's
impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and
remove trivial references. (November 2009)

In literature

The story of Thuggee was popularised by books such as Philip Meadows
Taylor's novel Confessions of a Thug, 1839, leading to the word "thug"
entering the English language. Ameer Ali, the protagonist of
Confessions of a Thug was said to be based on a real Thug called Syeed
Amir Ali.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Meadows_Taylor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_a_Thug_(novel)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protagonist

John Masters' novel The Deceivers also deals with the subject. A more
recent book is George Bruce's The Stranglers: The cult of Thuggee and
its overthrow in British India (1968). Dan Simmons's Song of Kali,
1985, features a Thuggee cult.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Masters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Simmons

The 19th century American writer Mark Twain discusses the Thuggee
fairly extensively in chapters 9 and 10 of "Following the Equator:
Volume II", 1897, THE ECCO PRESS, ISBN 0-88001-519-5.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain

Christopher Moore's novel, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff,
Christ's Childhood Pal, describes a Thuggee ritual.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb:_The_Gospel_According_to_Biff,_Christ%27s_Childhood_Pal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Moore_(author)

The 1976 science fiction novel Strangler's Moon by E.E. "Doc" Smith
and Stephen Goldin is based on the Thuggee (book #2 in the Family
D'Alembert series).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strangler%27s_Moon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._E._Smith
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Goldin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_D%27Alembert

Sci-Fi/Fantasy author Glen Cook uses an India-like setting and Thuggee
as a plot vehicle in his books Shadow Games (June 1989), and Dreams of
Steel (April 1990). The books and later ones that continue the
storyline form part of Cook's Black Company series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Cook
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_Games
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_of_Steel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Company

The Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey has a Hindu villain, whose
minions are Thuggee, almost without exception.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_Lackey
Author William T. Vollmann draws upon Sleeman in his story The Yellow
Sugar, which is one of two tales in his collection The Rainbow Stories
dealing with the colour yellow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_T._Vollmann
In the pre-Holmes short story "The Mystery of Uncle Jeremy's
Household" (1887), Arthur Conan Doyle centres the narrative on a
beautiful female Thuggee in England who has "occasional fits of
fanaticism" and "horrible conceptions of religion".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle
Italian writer Emilio Salgari (1862–1911) wrote about thugs in I
Misteri della Jungla Nera (1895) and Le Due Tigri (1904) and other
short stories.
George Macdonald Fraser's novel Flashman in the Great Game (1975)
makes references to the "cult" of Thuggee, while the phrase: "pass the
tobacco" is used as a verbal signal for the killing to begin.
The DC Comics character Ravan is a Thuggee assassin who kills to delay
the return of Kali. He is the enemy of Kobra who seeks to bring about
her return.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Comics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravan_(comics)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobra_(comics)

In the novel The Thirteenth Manifestation: the Song of Kali Ma (2006)
by Josephine Dunne, thuggees appear as assassins who operate from an
ancient subterranean Kali temple under the mountains between the
Pakistan and Indian line of control in Kashmir.

In film

The two most popular depictions of the cult in film are the 1939 film,
Gunga Din, and the 1984 film, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
The Indiana Jones movie is notable for Amrish Puri's villain, who is
shown chanting lines such as "maaro maaro sooar ko, chamdi nocho pee
lo khoon" - literally "Kill, Kill the pig, flay his skin, drink his
blood". Temple of Doom was temporarily banned in India for an
allegedly racist portrayal of Indians. Both films have the heroes
fighting secret revivals of the cult to prevent them from resuming
their reigns of terror, although Temple of Doom included features that
were never part of the Thuggee, such as cardiectomy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Jones_and_the_Temple_of_Doom
In the 1956 film Around the World in Eighty Days, starring David
Niven, Passepartout rescues a princess captured by the Thuggee and
sentenced to burn to death in the funeral pyre with her deceased
husband. (In the original Jules Verne novel, Thuggee are mentioned
only briefly, and not directly in connection with this princess.)[10]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Around_the_World_in_Eighty_Days_(1956_film)
In 1960 British horror studio Hammer Film Productions released The
Stranglers of Bombay. In the film, Guy Rolfe portrays an heroic
British officer battling institutional mismanagement by the British
East India Company, as well as Thuggee infiltration of Indian society,
in an attempt to bring the cultists to justice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_East_India_Company
The 1968 Bollywood film Sangharsh, based on a story by Jnanpith Award
winner, Mahasweta Devi, presented a fictionalised account of vendetta
within a Thuggee cult in the holy Indian town of Varanasi.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunghursh_(1968_film)
The 1988 film version of The Deceivers, produced by Ismail Merchant
and starring Pierce Brosnan, is a fictionalised account of the initial
discovery and infiltration of the Thuggee sect by an imperial British
administrator.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deceivers
The 1954 film I Misteri della Giungla Nera directed by Gian Paolo
Callegari and starring Lex Barker, where a group of religious fanatics
in India, the Thugs, prey upon European and natives alike by capturing
and offering them up in sacrifice to their frightful goddess, Kali
(from imdb.) Adapted from Emilio Salgari's book by the same name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilio_Salgari
The 1965 film Help! directed by Richard Lester and featuring The
Beatles parodies the thuggee as the cult that tries to steal Ringo's
sacrificial ring.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help!_(film)

In television

In an episode of Highlander: The Series, "The Wrath of Kali", Duncan
MacLeod deals with immortal Kamir (played by Indian actor Kabir Bedi),
last of the Thuggee.
The fifth episode of the short-lived Clerks: The Animated Series
featured a plot twist where the Little League World Champions were
kidnapped by the Thuggee, where they were forced to chip rock away
from walls (much like the Thuggee in Temple of Doom).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_League
In the episode "The Yellow Scarf Affair" of the series The Man from
U.N.C.L.E., Agent Napoleon Solo uncovers a revival of the Thuggee cult
while investigating a plane crash in India.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_from_U.N.C.L.E.
On It Ain't Half Hot Mum series 2, episode 8, "The Night of the
Thugs", the concert party take refuge from a rainstorm in a ruined
Thuggee temple. NB - Rare unscripted "giggle" from Captain Ashwood
when Colonel Reynolds discuss stealing the ruby from the statue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episodes_of_Highlander_(season_4)#The_Wrath_of_Kali

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Ain%27t_Half_Hot_Mum
See also

Highwayman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highwayman

Notes and references

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica,
Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
http://www.1902encyclopedia.com/T/THU/thugs.html
^ Thugs 1902 Encyclopædia Britannica'.Pali-sthag.
^ a b c d Dash, Mike Thug: the true story of India's murderous cult
ISBN 1-86207-604-9, 2005
^ Dash, pp. 284-286 in the Dutch translation of the book
^ Dash, pp. 247 in the Dutch translation of the book
^ Dash, page 329 of the UK edition - notes to Chapter 16
^ James Paton, 'Collections on Thuggee and Dacoitee', British Library
Add. Mss. 41300
^ "Thugs Traditional View" (shtml). BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/history/thugs.shtml.
Retrieved 2007-09-17.
^ Sinister sects: Thug, Mike Dash's investigation into the gangs who
preyed on travellers in 19th-century India by Kevin Rushby, The
Guardian, Saturday, June 11, 2005.
^ Dutta, Krishna (2005) The sacred slaughterers. Book review of Thug:
the true story of India's murderous cult by Mike Dash. In the
Independent (Published: 8 July 2005)text
^ Verne, Jules (August 18, 2005). Around The World in Eighty Days.
http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=34998. See
page 38, where the Thuggee chief is mentioned, and page 46, where the
bride is referred to as a suttee.

Bibliography

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica,
Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition
Dash, Mike Thug: the true story of India's murderous cult ISBN
1-86207-604-9, 2005
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Dash
Dutta, Krishna (2005) The sacred slaughterers. Book review of Thug:
the true story of India's murderous cult by Mike Dash. In The
Independent (Published: 8 July 2005) text
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/thug-the-true-story-of-indias-murderous-cult-by-mike-dash-497902.html
Paton, James 'Collections on Thuggee and Dacoitee', British Library
Add. Mss. 41300
Woerkens, Martine van The Strangled Traveler: Colonial Imaginings and
the Thugs of India (2002),

External links

Acting in the "Theatre of Anarchy": 'The Anti-Thug Campaign' and
Elaborations of Colonial Rule in Early-Nineteenth Century India by Tom
Lloyd (2006) in PDF file format
http://www.csas.ed.ac.uk/fichiers/LLOYD.pdf
Parama Roy: Discovering India, Imagining Thuggee. In: idem, Indian
Traffic. Identities in Question in Colonial and Postcolonial India.
University of California Press 1998. (in html format)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee"

Discovering India, Imagining Thuggee
Acknowledgments

This book owes a great deal to the critical perspicacity and
generosity of friends, colleagues, mentors, and institutions, whom I
am grateful to be able to name and thank. These pages would have been
impossible to bring to fruition without the encouragement and
intellectual support of Sandhya Shetty and Carole-Anne Tyler, who
consistently asked the difficult questions and who taught me through
the inspiration of their own scholarship. I am also grateful to
Lalitha Gopalan, who so often told me what I was thinking before I
knew it myself. I am grateful too to the many other friends and
colleagues who read the manuscript, either in full or in part, or who
responded to my work at conferences: Katherine Kinney, Joe Childers,
R. Radhakrishnan, Inderpal Grewal, Vincent Cheng, Daniel Boyarin, Kim
Devlin, Kalpana Seshadri-Crooks, Bette London, Ron Inden, Robert
Goldman, Aditya Behl, Gayatri Spivak, Jennifer Brody, George Haggerty,
Lawrence Cohen, Sue-Ellen Case, Philip Brett, and Susan Foster. I am
indebted to the readers for the University of California Press,
especially Caren Kaplan and Sangeeta Ray, for their meticulous,
constructive, and sympathetic evaluation of the project. My editor,
Doris Kretschmer, has been unfailingly helpful and patient. I am also
grateful to Dore Brown and Diane Jagusiak of the University of
California Press, and to Sarah Myers, for their scrupulous editing. I
am indebted above all to my parents, Amalendu and Ramola Roy, as well
as to Bharat Trehan for (among other things) his recall of a youth
productively spent watching Bombay films.
This project has been funded by a University of California President’s
Research Fellowship in the Humanities in 1991–1992, a fellowship in
the University of California, Riverside’s Center for Ideas and Society
in the spring of 1994, and by two pretenure faculty-development awards
from the University of California, Riverside. I am grateful for this
support.

2. Discovering India, Imagining Thuggee

I am a Thug, my father and grandfather were Thugs, and I have thugged
with many. Let the government employ me and I will do its work.
He had met hundreds of other Deceivers, and the notes were a complete
tale of all he had seen and heard and done; of all the Deceivers who
had engaged in any action, with their descriptions, habits, and homes;
of each murder, and how it had gone, and how it might have been
prevented—or improved upon. The words could be read for either
purpose, according to the spirit of the reader.

At the time that Burton was impersonating Mirza Abdullah in the
bazaars of Sind, another important narrative of disguise,
surveillance, and racial crossing was being written in the
subcontinent, this one under the auspices of the Thuggee and Dacoity
Department of the East India Company’s government. This was the
narrative of the exposure and extirpation of a form of hereditary
criminality called thuggee; it was to form a significant constitutive
component of the authoritarian and interventionary reform of the 1830s
and 1840s and to contribute to the still-emerging project of
“discovering India.” “It was with the flourish of mystery unveiled and
mastered,” writes a contemporary historian, “that a group of officers
of the Political Department had lobbied for special operations against
[a] ‘murderous fraternity’ and for special laws to deal with it.” [1]
It is that tale of thuggee that this chapter will take up, at least in
part as a counterpoint to the Burtonian record of the Englishman as
native. It examines the phenomenon designated thuggee by colonial
authority in nineteenth-century India, a phenomenon whose emergence,
codification, and overthrow was to become perhaps the founding moment
for the study of indigenous criminality, as a problem of
impersonation, visibility, and the transactions of reading. I use the
example of thuggee to explore one of the various and often mutually
discontinuous kinds of identities that were created, fixed, or
rendered ambivalent for Indian colonial subjects. In approaching the
problematic of thuggee in the colonial context through the optic of
identity formation and subjection, I broach a nexus of concerns that
cohere around the epistemes of representation and knowledge: the
problematic of the formation of colonial knowledge, the contested,
changing, and uneven definitions of law, order, criminality, and
reform in early-nineteenth-century India, the theorization of colonial
identities (Indian and British), and the discursive problems
associated with generating the moral subject of the civilizing mission
of British colonialism.

This chapter has three sections, with significant amounts of overlap.
The first examines the official records of the Thuggee and Dacoity
Department (first established in the 1830s), a cluster of documents
that I have perhaps rather arbitrarily designated the thuggee archive.
This includes first and foremost the files on thuggee and dacoity in
the India Office Library and the National Archives of India. Also
incorporated in this thuggee archive are the works (Ramaseeana, or a
Vocabulary of the Peculiar Language Used by the Thugs [1836]; Report
on Budhuk Alias Bagree Dacoits and Other Gang Robbers by Hereditary
Profession [1849]; Report on the Depredations Committed by the Thug
Gangs [1840]) of William Henry Sleeman of thuggee fame, as well as of
other officials associated directly or indirectly with the antithug
campaign: James Sleeman, Thug, or A Million Murders (1920); Charles
Hervey, Some Records of Crime (1892); Edward Thornton, Illustrations
of the History and Practices of the Thugs (1837); and the anonymously
authored The Thugs or Phansigars of India (1839), an abridged version
of the Ramaseeana for an American audience. This inventory of thuggee
materials also includes a number of biographies, fictionalizations,
and nonofficial accounts of the “discovery” of the phenomenon and its
eradication: James Hutton, A Popular Account of the Thugs and Dacoits,
the Hereditary Garroters and Gang-Robbers of India (1857); A. J.
Wightman, No Friend for Travellers (1959); George Bruce, The
Stranglers: The Cult of Thuggee and Its Overthrow in British India
(1968); Francis Tuker, The Yellow Scarf (1961); and Philip Meadows
Taylor, Confessions of a Thug (1839). These are collectively
designated the archive in this chapter, despite the incommensurability
in their generic status; this has been done because there appears to
be very little significant difference between one text and another in
this collection. Each seems to repeat the others in an uncanny
fashion; each narrates the same incidents in almost exactly the same
rhetorical mode; and each looks to W. H. Sleeman’s productions as the
founding texts of the thuggee narrative. (Meadows Taylor’s novel
differs from these only in its focus on a single thug and its
accumulation of additional [fictional] detail.)

The second section focuses on the special juridical procedures that
had to be instituted in order to deal with some of the most
intractable problems associated with a bizarre and enigmatic variety
of criminality. The final section provides a reading of the 1952 work
on the thugs by John Masters, The Deceivers, a novel that was
popularized in the 1980s in a film of that name by Merchant Ivory.
What sets this novel apart from the rest of the archive is the turn it
gives to the always already familiar narrative of thuggee through its
focus on the tensions of the investigating subject and its interest in
the English impersonation of Indianness and Englishness. It allows us
a way of (re)visiting and (re)inflecting the thuggee archive through
its stress on the colonizing male’s desires and identifications, and
thus forms an apposite corollary to the accent on Indian impersonation
that informs the discourse of criminal law.

At this point I should add a note about the limits of the enterprise
undertaken in this chapter. In the first place, I do not wish to
furnish another account of thuggee or to enter the traffic in
competing narratives of what might have constituted a material thug
organization or practice. Nor am I interested in reinscribing the
practices of the thugs in the register of subaltern insurgency,
though, given that subalternity is most properly construed as a
relational rather than an essential category,[2] I am not unwilling to
grant the thugs’ subaltern status. I am certainly sympathetic to
Ranajit Guha’s model of reading subaltern insurgency (as a “turning
things upside down”) through the texts of counterinsurgency.[3] But,
given the exclusions listed earlier in this paragraph, for me to read
thuggee as resistive, anticolonial, protonationalist, or even
antistate may be philosophically not discontinuous with the reading
practices that produced the thug as a demonized and completely
irrational entity. My object here is not to recuperate a subaltern
consciousness, even one that is acknowledged to be ineluctably
discursive, “a theoretical fiction to entitle the project of
reading,” [4] though I concede that the question of “subaltern
consciousness” cannot be completely bypassed.

I shall confine myself instead to examining the performative
subjectivity of the thug, as it is constructed in the discourse of
thuggee, as a way of teasing out, extending, and transforming some of
the implications of representation, mimicry, and visibility in the
colonial context. What I will engage are the models of reading that
are provided by the thuggee archives—how they are formed,
consolidated, or (partially) interrupted. And what I do argue is that
the reading of the uncovering of thuggee as an enabling moment for the
colonial state in its quest for the consolidation of judicial power
needs to be, if not displaced, at least complicated, by the
acknowledgment that thuggee forms an especially intransigent moment
within the colonial construction of criminality; it is a moment that
confounds and unsettles the received wisdom about identity formation,
truth production, and meliorative possibilities in early-nineteenth-
century India. What I also argue is that the discourse on and around
thuggee can be instrumental in opening up our present understanding of
the theorization of colonial identity, especially as it engages
questions of familiarity, visibility, and reproducibility. The text of
thuggee provides, for instance, a point of entry into a wider range of
mimic desires, identifications, and positions than someone like Bhabha
explicitly engages[5]—for instance, the colonizer’s fascination with
going native, the English miming of Englishness, or the indigenous
miming of indigenous subject positions—as well as foregrounding
questions of class, gender, and sexuality.

• • •

The Thug

The first thugs were not arrested by the British until 1799, after the
defeat at Seringapatam of Tipu Sultan, one of the most potent threats
to the expansionist ambitions of the East India Company; it was not
evident to the British at the time, though, that the stranglers were
thugs or hereditary killers. The first mention of the law-and-order
problem posed by thugs occurs in 1810, in the commander-in-chief’s
instructions to sepoys proceeding on leave about the dangers of
traveling at night and carrying large sums of cash instead of bills of
exchange;[6] but thuggee as a significant social arrangement or
discursive formation does not feature in this caution to the sepoys.
Thornton reproduces some correspondence between British magistrates
and police officials of the Western Provinces in the years 1814–1816
on the subject of thugs; at this point knowledge about them appears
very fragmentary, with no reference to shared religious rituals or
language or an idiosyncratic form of murder. It appears that the
notion of thuggee as a system rather than a disarticulated set of
violent acts was first broached in 1816 by Dr. Richard Sherwood, who
wrote an essay detailing its genealogy, organization, and argot for
the Madras Literary Gazette.[7] It proved, however, enormously
difficult to compel belief in the existence of such a fraternity (this
was to remain a problem in the decades to come), even among British
political officers, magistrates, and law-enforcement officials.
Meadows Taylor describes the capture of large numbers of thugs in
Bundelkhand and Malwa in the 1820s, an event that failed to “[excite]
more than a passing share of public attention.” [8] It was not until
Captain W. H. Sleeman undertook the exercise of decoding and exposing
thuggee in 1830, after the unexpected confession of the captured
bandit Feringheea, that a grand narrative of thuggee began to emerge.

Despite this relatively recent discovery, however, thuggee as praxis
and as identity was always represented as being of almost
inconceivable antiquity, conceived in the precolonial past and
sanctioned by long duration and popular Hindu mythology, if not
textual doctrine. A. J. Wightman, echoing his nineteenth-century
predecessors, asserts that though evidence of the existence of thuggee
is first found in records of the late thirteenth century, “it is
obvious that they must have been well-established at a much earlier
date.” [9] Some writers, like Sherwood, traced its origins to the
Arab, Afghan, and Mughal conquests of India of several centuries
earlier; James Sleeman and others traced the thugs back to the times
of Herodotus. The thug Feringheea is said to have claimed that the
sculptures at Ellora, which included representations of all the
professions on earth, featured a depiction of a thug plying his deadly
trade.[10] All the reports without exception demonstrate a tenacious
need to generate a creation myth, to locate not just a point of
discovery but a point of origin, and to establish a precolonial
genealogy. But at the beginning, as Geoff Bennington has said about
national histories, is also the myth of a beginning; and the origins
of thuggee keep receding into a more and more distant historical/
mythological point of inauguration.[11] In fact, several of the
accounts end up locating its beginning in a Hindu myth of creation.

The thugs, as they are represented in nineteenth- and twentieth-
century colonial representations, were a cult of professional
stranglers who preyed on travelers—though never on Englishmen—as an
act of worship to the popular Hindu goddess Kali. They were
represented as hereditary killers drawn from all regions, religions,
classes, and castes, united by their devotion to Kali and the act of
strangulation, which was, in this reading, quite literally sacralized.
The thugs were bound to their calling—and to each other—by shared
signifying systems: a language, a belief in the divine origin of the
practice, and a dizzying array of minutely observed rituals,
prohibitions, and superstitions. The thuggee system functioned as a
quasi-religious fraternity that, paradoxically, would accommodate just
about every Indian. It was defined as a compelling and
characteristically Indian form of social (ir)rationality, and the
practice was represented as resting upon an interlocking network of
constitutive contradictions.

Though the thugs robbed their victims and the confessions usually
demonstrate a very lucid recall of the division of the plunder,
thuggee was not conceived as having any economic base, particularly
because those involved in it appeared to have fixed abodes, peaceful
occupations, and a respectable place in the social and caste
hierarchies during those times when they were not engaged in killing
and plunder. While Sherwood does speculate, albeit briefly and
unevenly, on the proximate material causes of thuggee, the question
becomes progressively leached out of subsequent, and more hegemonic,
exegeses of thuggee. All the writers on the subject are insistent, to
greater or lesser degrees, that the thugs must not be regarded as
exigent, dispossessed, or rebellious subjects; they are unlike the
bandits of folk myth in being devious, unmartial (“cowardly” is the
adjective most often used), and almost obscenely respectable.[12] They
are characterized instead as hereditary killers whose “joyous
occupation” was, paradoxically, not only a matter of caste duty and
therefore ontological necessity but also a prime instance of
unalienated labor. By the time we come to James Sleeman’s hagiographic
account of his grandfather’s exploits, the act of strangulation has
not only been uncoupled from the usual motives for murder but has
acquired a quasi-libidinal charge: “The taking of human life for the
sheer lust of killing was the Thugs’ main object: the plunder, however
pleasant, being a secondary consideration.…Here was no body of amateur
assassins, driven to crime by force of circumstance, but men of
seeming respectability and high intelligence, often occupying
positions of importance and responsibility in their normal lives,
secretly trained from boyhood to the highest degree of skill in
strangulation.” [13] Sleeman is not alone in this reading of the
combined erotic and religious investment in murder. Taylor, in
Confessions of a Thug, hints at the homoerotic subtext of a thug’s
murder of a handsome lad; and George MacMunn explicitly couples the
left-hand Tantrism (including exorbitant and unauthorized sexual acts)
of Kali worshipers with behaviors like thuggee and nationalist
violence:

The murder trials that have followed on the sedition and secret murder
cult in Bengal, and indeed throughout India, show in their records how
the Hindu student depraved and often injured by too early eroticism,
turns to the suggestiveness of the murder-monger, and worships the
nitro-glycerine bomb as the apotheosis of his goddess [Kali].…The
student and the assistant editor of the rag, that but exists to
inflame students and pays its way by advertising the potent
aphrodisiacs among them, are the nidus of the bomb-cult.[14]

Katherine Mayo also locates the worship of Kali, premature and
excessive sexual activity, and acts of anticolonial terrorism within a
single perceptual grid.[15] This confluence of violence, illegitimacy,
and homoerotic desire is to resurface in The Deceivers.

Some twentieth-century scholars of colonial history have sought to
posit alternative, materialist histories of the phenomenon called
thuggee. Hiralal Gupta traces the development of thuggee or banditry
in the early nineteenth century to the success of the East India
Company’s expansionist policy, speculating that a significant number
of people captured as thugs by the Thuggee and Dacoity Department in
the 1830s and 1840s were erstwhile soldiers or officials in the employ
of rulers whose states had recently come under British control. These
people were among those who had lost their employment or fallen from
favor as a result of the annexation or reconfiguration of the Indian
princely states.[16] Sandria Freitag on the other hand points to the
displacement of peripatetic groups as a result of the ousting of local
settled rulers who had traditionally provided some protection to such
groups and to the establishment of the land-revenue-based state as a
possible explanation for the instances of collective acts of violence.
She also glosses the violence of dacoits—as of similar groups—as bids
for power and upward social mobility that would have been acknowledged
as such and accommodated by precolonial Indian state formations.[17]
Stewart Gordon argues that the large number of marauding groups that
were jockeying for political power in Malwa (where most of the thugs
seemed to be based) in the late eighteenth century posed a threat to
the stable sources of revenue in the region and necessitated the
creation of external sources of revenue. Those designated thugs were
“locally recruited, locally based” marauders hired to plunder outside
the neighborhood, as it were, in order to make up for revenue that
might have been lost to larger marauding groups.[18]

As I have already mentioned, Englishmen were never targeted by the
thugs; a few of the written accounts attribute the unsolved murder of
a Lieutenant Maunsell (or Monsell) in 1812 to thugs (as does the film
version of The Deceivers [1987], which opens with that killing), but
most of the thuggee texts point to the fact that the British had no
personal investment in the problem. Almost unfailingly these accounts
point to the antithug campaigns as exemplary instances of the active
benevolence of British rule, so often unjustly maligned or compared
unfavorably with indigenous rule. James Sleeman, who is particularly
apoplectic on this issue, argues that twentieth-century Indian demands
for independence were in effect a call for a return to the days of
thuggee: “Had this small handful of British officials, scattered like
poppies in a corn-field, shown the slightest timidity in grappling
with this gigantic task, they would surely have fallen victims to the
Thugs at the outset, in which case millions of Indians alive to-day
would never have been born, including possibly those who now agitate
for a restoration of the conditions under which Thuggee thrived and
battened.” [19]

Colonial accounts thus represent thuggee as outside a realm of
political and economic rationality (since it is religiously
sanctioned, grounded in caste, and linked to exorbitant pleasures).
Nonetheless, as the obsessive invocations of the Mutiny of 1857 and of
the Bengal revolutionaries of the twentieth century indicate, thuggee
was simultaneously addressed (even if not overtly acknowledged) as a
peculiarly potent threat to the authority and benevolence of the
empire in India. “To the colonial regime,” writes David Arnold, “crime
and politics were almost inseparable: serious crime was an implicit
defiance of state authority and a possible prelude to rebellion;
political resistance was either a ‘crime’ or the likely occasion for
it.” [20] Freitag points to the departures of British police action
from those of their Mughal predecessors; while the Mughals delegated
responsibility for containing collective crime to local functionaries,
the British felt such corporate criminal behaviors were nothing other
than a defiance of the state itself.[21] She points to the fundamental
distinctions, in terms of both the allocation of resources and the
formulation of legal procedures, that the Raj made between crimes
committed by individuals (“ordinary crime”) and those committed by
collectivities (“extraordinary crime”):

Elaboration of legal codes and police establishments to deal with
individual crime conveyed the impression that “the rule of law” had
been introduced into British India; yet the annual compilation of
crime and police statistics makes clear the minimal state resources
committed to policing individual crime. Unless such crime grew
alarmingly in a short period, or its policing fell significantly short
of what came to be seen as the norms of efficiency (for an inefficient
force), the state did not reckon individual crime to be of great
importance. By contrast, however, the British perceived collectively
criminal actions to be either directed against, or weakening, the
authority of the state. As a consequence, the British repeatedly felt
the need to launch centralized police forces against “extraordinary”
crime and viewed their inefficacy as a measure of the Raj’s impotence.
[22]

The thuggee records (including the confessions of thug approvers)
endeavor to provide—through the dominant tropes of ritualized,
religiously ratified, and libidinally charged slaughter—a tightly
knit, seamless, and self-validating account of an exceptional Indian
criminal practice. Yet, even as the record invokes the unvarying
trademarks of thug practice, it inescapably registers the
provisionality of its own categorization. The thug’s signature—murder
by strangulation, using a (silk) handkerchief—does not appear in every
act labeled thuggee; swords and poison feature as agents of
destruction quite as much as the talismanic rumal (handkerchief). Such
wide variations along a continuum of criminal activity were to lead,
after the 1830s, to an expansion of the provenance of thuggee: the
term came to include all kinds of organized and corporate criminal
activity (including poisoning and the kidnapping of children) that was
understood to be hereditary and/or itinerant. The confessions also
seem to demonstrate that at least some thugs were initiated into
professional practice not in adolescence or early manhood by older
male family members but later in life, most typically in response to a
situation of financial exigency.

Not only was it difficult to isolate certain crimes as the acts of
thugs, it was never easy either to establish the exceptional and
profoundly aberrant character of thuggee. The common complaint in all
the thuggee accounts without exception is that the activity of the
thugs seemed to mesh with exasperating ease into existing indigenous
networks of wealth and power, since they were supported by zamindars
(landowners), Indian princes, law-enforcement officials, merchants,
and even ordinary people. As Freitag suggests, “among organized
criminals the thags may have been the group most thoroughly embedded
in local society.” [23] The worship of Kali (also called Devi, or
Bhawani) could not easily be coded as an eccentric religious practice
either. Though some narratives do interpret the thugs’ invocation of
the goddess on the scaffold as proof positive of guilt (“Their
invocation of Bhawani at the drop was a confession of their guilt, for
no one in such a situation invokes Bhawani but a Thug, and he invokes
no other deity in any situation, whatever may be his religion or sect”)
[24], they also point to the widespread adoration of Kali across
regions and religions, among those identified as law-abiding as well
as those constituted as criminal.[25] Finally, while Thug beliefs and
rituals, especially those enacted at the start of an expedition, were
elaborately detailed, it was also asserted that in India expeditions
in quest of plunder were qualitatively no different from expeditions
undertaken for territorial aggrandizement; rulers and robbers alike
took the auspices after the Dasehra festival, before setting out on
their badshashi kam (kingly work).

Hence at least two contesting readings emerge: one defines the thugs
as a community apart, existing in enmity against law-abiding,
scrutable, and locally anchored subjects; the other identifies them as
natural to indigenous society, aided and abetted by all, and mirroring
and reproducing that society’s values. The uneasy fit between the
contextualizing move and the essentializing one was productive of an
aporia, which could only be resolved by invoking that most powerful of
all Indological epistemes—that of caste.[26] All the contradictions
and the seemingly endless heterogeneity of the subject category of the
thug are subsumed within that category, which is reified as coherent
and inflexible and emptied of any possibility of subjective freedom.
Once thuggee as social alliance was taxonomized as homologous to, if
not identical with (and the slippage from homology to identity occurs
without any apparent discursive strain), a caste, the thug could
simultaneously inhabit what had earlier been discrepant subject
positions: he could simultaneously be an exceptional criminal and a
representative Hindu, or Indian, since in the colonial imaginary the
territory of Hinduism is often coextensive with that of India.[27]
Even this reconciliation was not without its tensions, of course,
since thuggee as a philosophical system and a social formation seemed
to work strongly against the grain of the received colonial view of
India as irrevocably fractured along the fault lines of caste and
religion.

Nor was the caste explanation completely adequate to the great and, as
it seemed, illogical hybridity of thuggee. As a socioreligious
formation thuggee seemed to colonial investigators to be aligned with
popular, indeed demotic, forms of Hinduism in its reverence for Kali,
except that it attracted a large number of Muslim adherents, who
seemed to pay homage quite unproblematically both to the goddess and
to the strictures of the Koran. Here it is important to point to the
varied, contingent, and often irreconcilable constructions of Hindu
tradition in colonial discourse; the representation of Hinduism in the
discourse of thuggee is, for instance, quite discontinuous with that
which is operative in the discourse on sati, which was formulated in a
roughly contemporaneous moment. In the case of sati, as Lata Mani has
argued, colonial officials made energetic and systematic attempts to
establish Hinduism as a religion of the book; and Brahmanical readings
and textual authorities were privileged over custom and local
religious and social practice.[28] But in the instance of thuggee,
Hinduism is defined entirely as and by custom. Moreover, at the
popular or subaltern level, Hindu and Muslim forms of worship and
systems of belief may well have been less distinct than they were to
become (especially for more elevated castes and classes) later in the
century. The whole question in fact of Hindu doctrine and praxis and
its relation to thug identity is notoriously murky and ill defined.

Further complicating this discursive construction of thuggee was the
fact that professional thugs cultivated the appearance of the most
civic-minded of citizens and were conscientious about the discharge of
familial, social, and religious obligations. The very characteristics
that made them successful con men—their polish, their social and
rhetorical skills, their extraordinary capacity for duplicating
identities—also ensured their immense respectability in civil society.
But what rendered thuggee particularly elusive and frustrating to
British observers was its relative invisibility, its skill at
camouflage, and the difficulty of establishing it as a pervasive yet
eccentric form of lawlessness. Thug murders were typically performed
without shedding blood and without using identifiable offensive
weapons of any kind: they were performed far from the victims’ homes,
and the bodies were carefully buried. Because of the care exercised in
the killing and the disposal of the corpses (victims were buried with
great dispatch, and their graves were filled with rocks to keep out
any marauding animals) and the hazards attendant upon travel in
nineteenth-century India, these murders generally failed to register
as murders. Local landowners, rulers, and policemen connived at these
murders for their own benefit, or because they were prompted, it was
argued, by the heavy demands of superstition; and the peasantry, we
are told, simply ignored the bodies that occasionally appeared in
fields and wells. This raised the question of how far the circuit of
criminality actually extended: if local officials and the police
tolerated and even encouraged thuggee and ordinary folk made no
complaint about it, who could be said to remain unimplicated in it?
Under the circumstances, everything and everyone was liable to
suspicion, since the system of thuggee was both remarkably inclusive
and remarkably discreet in its operations. Hence British thuggee
inspectors were in the discomfiting position of focusing on crimes
that no one else acknowledged, certainly not (from the evidence of
these writers) most Indian princes or zamindars or even common folk
and generally not even the majority of the British magistracy or the
civil service. British scholars of thuggee were thus involved in a
detective project hobbled by an almost-fatal lack of empirical detail.
All natives were potentially thugs, since the system of thuggee was
remarkably inclusive; and the most seemingly innocent objects, like
handkerchiefs or gur (unrefined sugar, ritually consumed at the
commencement of an expedition), could participate in a diabolical
signifying system. And while British ignorance of thuggee (at least
until the 1830s) might contrast favorably with Indian knowledge—and
therefore complicity—it was susceptible of more objectionable
interpretations; in Masters’s novel, there is the danger that British
“ignorance” of thuggee can be read by the natives in a particularly
unflattering light: “In the nine years of the English Company’s rule
nothing had been done against the Deceivers. But William realized now
that most Indians knew at least of the existence of the Deceivers;
and, knowing, they could not believe the English did not also know;
therefore the English officials too were sharing in the spoils; so
what was the use of informing?” [29] (In the film version, the Indians
have good reason to be suspicious: George Angelsmith, the exemplary
servant of the East India Company, has full knowledge of the
activities of the thugs and profits from it.) Here it is not simply
the natives who are the object of investigation, codification, and
supervision; an alternative modality of interpretation is imaginable,
in which colonial authority is itself open to variant readings,
including those it has not authorized.

All these factors made the retrieval of information and the policing
of thuggee particularly vexing. And creating an archive and
standardizing reader response was not easy either. Though each thuggee
expedition and each act of thuggee was performed by the book, attended
by minutely detailed rituals and scrupulously observed omens, and was
immediately identifiable as such to those who could read the signs, it
was not immediately visible as such to those who could not or did not
see thuggee as a semiosis. Even in the 1860s, when knowledge about
thuggee had been codified, circulated, and reproduced and was
underwritten by wide-ranging institutional and legal support, Charles
Hervey complained that his subordinates were yet imperfect readers of
the complex and mysterious text of thuggee,

some correctly recognizing Thuggee in instances which were palpably
the deed of experts, although death should not have taken place;
others only doing so where death had resulted; some classing certain
murders as cases of “Thuggee” without reference to the means resorted
to in the perpetration thereof; others who wholly pass by cases of
poisoning whether followed by death or not, although they bore
evidence of being the acts of class criminals; some who restrict their
notice to selected cases only of its occurrence, passing by other
similar instances; some who endeavour to distinguish between different
degrees of poisoning, some calling “murder by poison” Thugee [sic],
others not doing so[;]…others who lump all such kindred offences under
round numbers without any narration of the attendant circumstances,
contented only with quoting against them the sections of the Penal
Code under which they were triable or were tried.[30]

With all the discrepant valences of this discourse, one factor
remained crucial in the determination of thuggee: the idea of
hereditary criminality. This was not a particularly novel reading of
corporate criminal activity in colonial India; as far back as 1772,
the dacoits of Bengal were strenuously and repeatedly characterized
not as individual or collective subjects responding to socioeconomic
transformations engendered by the sudden ascendancy of the East India
Company or indeed to any other material circumstance, or even to
chance, but as fulfilling a hereditary calling, if not a genetic
predisposition.[31] And, as Sanjay Nigam has convincingly
demonstrated, the colonial reification of caste as coherent and
inflexible, combined with the received notion of hereditary
criminality (most fully exemplified in the instance of thuggee), was
to have a long and ominous history in colonial and postcolonial India;
the Criminal Tribes and Castes Act of 1872 was to designate (without
any possibility of appeal) a number of vagrant and impoverished
“communities” as “criminal by birth” and thus subject to surveillance,
control, and attempted rehabilitation.[32] I am struck here by the
considerable (though not complete) overlap of this discourse with
Michel Foucault’s description of the emergence of the homosexual as a
distinct ontological category in the nineteenth century:

The nineteenth-century homosexual became a personage, a past, a case
history, and a childhood, in addition to being a type of life, a life
form, and a morphology, with an indiscreet anatomy and a mysterious
physiology. Nothing that went into his total composition was
unaffected by his sexuality. It was everywhere present in him: at the
root of all his actions because it was their insidious and
indefinitely active principle; written immodestly on his face and body
because it was a secret that always gave itself away. It was
cosubstantial with him, less as a habitual sin than as a singular
nature.…The sodomite had been a temporary aberration; the homosexual
was now a species.[33]

Because thuggee was such a slippery issue, a kind of legal,
disciplinary, and discursive apparatus was brought to bear on it that
did not occur in the case for instance of sati, another retrograde and
horrific practice apparently authorized by Hinduism. This is not of
course to assert that sati as a discursive formation was unproblematic
for colonial administrators and reformers; Lata Mani has pointed that
the abolition of sati in colonial India was preceded by its
legalization and has drawn attention to the valorization of the
“voluntary” sati in colonial and nationalist discourses. But thuggee
was not so much spectacular—as sati was (at least until 1829)—as
invisible. As a result it was much more difficult to discursively
track its trajectory and to determine the success of the pacification.
Sati was abolished in 1829, and there are no official records after
that date of the practice; it was presumed that it had simply been
legislated out of existence. But in the instance of thuggee, such
faith in the efficacy of legislative sanction is much more uncertain.

In the juridical domain, thuggee was defined as an “exceptional case”
in the name of a colonial contingency, since thuggee by definition was
exorbitant to standard law-and-order discourse and marked at all
points by immoderation.[34] This enabled the establishment of a
discursive and juridical system that was entirely self-referential and
self-validating, in which it was sufficient to be identified as a thug
or “hereditary criminal” through an approver’s testimony, without
actually being convicted of a specific crime, to be liable to arrest,
trial, and, almost inevitably, conviction. I will return to this
shortly.

Knowledge of thuggee as an essence then had to be constructed,
crucially, around an absence; and all the confessions, all the subject
effects produced by the testimony of approvers, were a strenuous
effort to recover a “consciousness,” a consciousness that would
provide the foundation for the revelations that ratified the antithug
campaign. But if thuggee was as far-reaching and as subtle as W. H.
Sleeman and his associates insisted, and if thug ontology and practice
was determined by birth, how could an Englishman ever hope to know the
whole truth and nothing but the truth? How could one verify the
confessions of the approvers and establish checks over their control
of the official record? Thornton registers exasperation at the
contaminated nature of the confessions: “Few things are more difficult
to a native of India than to tell the truth, under any circumstances;
and the confessions of criminals, in all countries, may be expected to
contain a mixture of truth and falsehood. The deposition of Moklal is
not consistent with the rest; nor even with another statement made by
himself, made in conversation with Captain Sleeman.” [35] He also
cites (as do other accounts of thuggee) the instance of an approver
who functioned as a double agent, beguiling his English employer into
believing him committed to the capture of thugs while providing
information and English passes [documents authorizing unimpeded travel
within, and between, designated territories] to his criminal comrades.
[36]

While James Sleeman claims that W. H. Sleeman and his colleagues, in
the 1830s, “resolved that this trade of Thuggee should no longer be
any more a mystery than tailoring or carpentering, began to initiate
themselves into all the secrets of the craft, and were soon, in their
knowledge of the theory of the profession, little behind the
professors themselves,” [37] the “secrecy” of thuggee never
disappeared as a threat. W. H. Sleeman—speaking of course with the
superior wisdom of his newfound knowledge—records a state preceding
revelation with combined horror and incredulity:

While I was in the Civil charge of the district of Nursingpore…no
ordinary robbery or theft could be committed without my being
acquainted with it; nor was there a robber or a thief of the ordinary
kind in the district, with whose character I had not become acquainted
in the discharge of my duty as magistrate; and if any man had then
told me, that a gang of assassins by profession resided in the village
of Kandelee, not four hundred yards from my court, and that [in the]
extensive groves of the village of Mandesur, only one stage from me…
was one of the largest Beles, or places of murder in all India; and
that large gangs from Hindustan and the Deccan used to rendezvous in
these groves, remain in them for many days altogether every year, and
carry their dreadful trade along all the lines of road that pass by
and branch off them, with the knowledge and connivance of the two
landholders by whose ancestors these groves had been planted, I should
have thought him a fool or a mad man; and yet nothing could have been
more true.[38]

Indeed, the entire discourse of thuggee is troped by figures of
darkness, mystery, inscrutability, unpredictability, and unexpected
menace, even as W. H. Sleeman and his assistants are inserted into a
heroic narrative of battle against evil. “Secrecy is indispensable”
for thug ceremonies, and “[a]n impenetrable veil of darkness is thrown
over their atrocities”;[39] “danger was everywhere, unseen and
unexpected” [40] for the Englishmen involved in the anti-thuggee
enterprise (even though Englishmen were known never to be attacked by
thugs); they were like “men isolated in the midst of a dangerous,
trackless and gloomy jungle, without map or compass”;[41] and “[the]
old Thug Associations, which have been now effectually put down in all
parts of India,…would assuredly rise up again, and flourish under the
assurance of religious sanction,…were the strength of the special
police, employed in the suppression, hastily reduced, or its vigilance
relaxed.” [42] Once again, Foucault on the discourse of sex and
sexuality is apropos: “What is peculiar to modern societies, in fact,
is not that they consigned sex to a shadow existence, but that they
dedicated themselves to speaking of it ad infinitum, while exploiting
it as the secret.” [43]

This very obscurity, this elusiveness that characterizes the thug as
discursive object, could and did function as an enabling moment for
the colonial law-and-order machine. Since it could never be decisively
established—given the terms of the discourse—that thuggee had been
extirpated, the need for endless vigilance was ratified. The moral
viability of the civilizing mission, indeed the very ground of its
possibility, is the never-satisfied, endlessly proliferating need for
reform. In the case of thuggee, colonial officials were confirmed in
their belief that the work of civilizing is never done. Thus many
writers warn repeatedly of the dangers of celebrating the demise of
thuggee prematurely; in 1893, Charles Hervey, successor to Colonel W.
H. Sleeman of thuggee fame, was still chasing after thugs. These
officers point not only to the hypnotic lure of thuggee for its
practitioners but also to the fact that native policemen and landlords
are only too anxious to conceal evidence of thug crimes from credulous
British officials overeager to congratulate themselves on the
cessation of this practice and overoptimistic about the all-
encompassing vigilance of colonial power. Thuggee never really goes
away as a present problem as sati might be said to do; it may almost
be said to function as a trope for all that is uncontrollable in the
law-and-order situation. In fact, the construction of hereditary,
pervasive, and socially or religiously sanctioned criminality
inaugurated in the discourse on thuggee reappears throughout the
nineteenth century in the discourse on dacoits, buddhuks, dhatoora
poisoners (all of whom came to occupy the same criminal category as
the thug), and specifically designated criminal tribes and castes.

How else might we understand this absence or unknowability that tropes
the discourse of thuggee? Certainly this simultaneous fear of and
pleasure in the duplicity and omnipresence of the thug deserves some
consideration, especially in light of the questions it raises about
the status of knowledge, subject positions, and representation in the
colonial state. Bhabha’s model of the emergence of shifty civil
subject of the colonial polity through mimicry can be extended here,
it seems to me, to some of the other possibilities of mimicry in the
colonial theater.[44] The situation of the thug is analogous to but
certainly not identical to that of the not quite/not white native—the
thug after all is not mimicking colonial ontology—though his capacity
for traffic in identities and positions is staggering. The instance of
thuggee intimates, I think, that the colonized subject’s mimicry need
not necessarily have the colonizer as its focus in order to function
as menace; mimicry, even if it is mimicry of indigenous subject
positions, frustrates the colonial desire for homogenized, duplicable,
and knowable native subjects in whom subalternity is sought to be
reproduced through the authorized version of mimicry. If there is one
thing that characterizes the thug of the archives, it is the
multiplicity and unpredictability of his manifestations. As we have
seen, it was what was perceived as this faculty for disguise and
invisibility that had to be criminalized by the laws designed to
convict thugs; theoretically there was no such entity as an honest
thug, and many so-called thugs were convicted who were, according to
the official records, engaged in “honest labour.” There is an ongoing
and strenuous endeavor in the discourse of thuggee to interpellate the
thug as an essence, a move which attests to the anxiety of rupture
that subtends the totalizing epistemologies of colonialism. Yet the
thug as discursive object is strikingly resistant to such fixity; he
is all things to all people. If native identity can be staged, can be
plural, then what are the implications for colonial authority and
colonialism’s project of information retrieval? Thuggee, I would
suggest, introduces a disturbance in the paradigm of information
retrieval that often seems dominant in texts like Kim and A Personal
Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah, as well as the
notion of native authenticity and ontological purity that is a
governing trope of colonial discourse. The thug, through his capacity
for disguise and impersonation and his skill at negotiating multiple
and competing identities, usurps the colonizer’s privilege of complex
subjectivity and of movement between subject positions and thus can be
read to assume some control over both the construction and flow of
colonial knowledge. So he never becomes fully naturalized as the
disciplinary subject or, in other words, the knowable subject, of the
colonial polity. And thuggee, later rewritten as dacoity, continues to
function within the law-and-order context in the colonial and
postcolonial state formations as a trope for the unruly and
unreformable energies that cannot easily be accommodated to the needs
of the civilizing mission.[45]

• • •

The Law

The writings and reports of W. H. Sleeman, which form the core texts
around which the tale of thuggee is orchestrated, represent a
concerted and monumental effort to illuminate and classify the
obscurity of thuggee. Sleeman emerges, in both nineteenth- and
twentieth-century accounts of thuggee, as the hero of his own story.
Even those works, like George Bruce’s The Stranglers and James
Sleeman’s Thug, or A Million Murders, that purport to be histories of
the thugs rather than biographies, present the account of thuggee as
coextensive with the life of Sleeman. Sleeman emerges from these texts
(and his own, of course) as an exemplary figure in nineteenth-century
criminal and judicial procedures, who undertakes a self-appointed
messianic task of uncovering and reading. Nothing in his story happens
by chance. The discovery of the scope of thuggee as a result of
Feringheea’s confession is (re)written as an inevitability in the task
of reconstructing thuggee, and Sleeman’s anti-thuggee efforts traced
back to the moment of his arrival in India in 1809. All of Sleeman’s
life and work before 1830 is thus written as a prelude to the
climactic scenes of thug hunting and as a preparation for reading the
mysteries of this esoteric Indian cult. Sleeman above all is
transformed in this telling into an almost Saidean figure of
knowledge; he is the shikari (hunter) who, with his gift of languages,
long residence in India without being “Orientalized,” and experience
in war and in settling newly conquered territories, can present an
ideal model of the exegete. Though a crime like thuggee is quite
literally inconceivable to those “living under an efficient
government,” Sleeman is no Inspector Clouseau, no naive Englishman who
stumbles unaware upon a vast organized conspiracy. He knows what he is
looking for; indeed, Tuker’s biography imagines Sleeman becoming the
butt of his colleagues’ jokes during his early years in India because
of his eagerness to “discover” thuggee.[46] In this telling, thuggee
predates Sleeman; indeed, it is as old as India itself. Yet the text
of thuggee remains unread until Sleeman, the reader-as-savior,
provides the hermeneutic key to the mystery. He establishes the
exceptional quality of thuggee, distinguishing it from outlawry,
banditry, and other illegalities necessitated by privation; he
establishes the story of thuggee as a moral narrative and embeds it in
the culture of an Orientalist India.

The man whose ideal was, like that of a Sherlock Holmes, “to be
everywhere, and to see everything,” [47] proved phenomenally successful
—in his own terms—at cracking the code of thuggee. He showed a
remarkable capacity—far greater than that of Sherwood or even that of
the few officers who had harassed the thugs in the early decades of
the century—to globalize and codify discrete accounts of crimes in
different times and places into a metanarrative of hereditary crime.
On the evidence of approvers, he created gigantic and detailed “family
trees” of captured and uncaptured thugs that provided copious details
of each man’s crimes, place of origin, place in the caste hierarchy,
and personal and professional antecedents; he also mapped out all the
bhils (places of slaughter and burial) in central India. Every thug
could then be located on Sleeman’s gigantic grid, and information and
operations were centralized. The local knowledge of the approvers now
became part of a giant signifying chain. For the thug, there was no
escape: his history and his nature were always already known to the
all-seeing eyes of the colonial bureaucracy and criminal-justice
system; his experience formed a narrative even before he made his
confession and was in no way dependent on it. As Ameer Ali says in
Confessions of a Thug, “The man unfolded a roll of paper written in
Persian, and read a catalogue of crime, of murders, every one of which
I knew to be true; a faithful record it was of my past life, with but
few omissions.” [48] Sleeman also prepared a dictionary of Ramasee,
the secret language of the criminal fraternity, with a vocabulary made
up entirely of descriptions of criminal actions. This linguistic,
geographic, and genealogical grid left out little that was germane to
the needs of criminal justice in colonial India:

I have, I believe, entered in this vocabulary every thing to which
Thugs in any part of India have thought it necessary to assign a
peculiar term; and every term peculiar to their associations with
which I have yet become acquainted. I am satisfied that there is no
term, no rite, no ceremony, no opinion, no omen or usage that they
have intentionally concealed from me; and if any have been
accidentally omitted after the numerous narratives that I have had to
record, and cases to investigate, they can be but comparatively very
few and unimportant.[49]

The doctrine of thuggee was not simply a novel yet apposite way of
reading Indian criminality at a moment when the pressures to reform
the East India Company by reforming India were particularly marked.
The consequences of the discovery of thuggee were, in other words, not
simply a philosophical reconstellation of Indian criminality. Thuggee
also gave rise to a veritable cottage industry of policing and
surveillance techniques, as well as ethnographic documentation. Like
the system it purported to study, the discourse on thuggee was
totalizing in its scope. In the juridical domain, thuggee was defined
as an “exceptional case”; this enabled the establishment of a
radically new machinery of arrest, conviction, and punishment in thug
trials. The production of penal truth in thug trials proved, as we
have seen, notoriously difficult. Since thugs were peripatetic
operatives, who always committed their crimes far from home and
disposed of their plunder quickly, evidence was not only destroyed but
questions were raised about jurisdictional authority. Local
functionaries were not just uncooperative; many were allegedly bound
by a utilitarian calculus to thug gangs. In addition, the relatives of
the putative victims displayed no zeal in the punishment of crime or
the redress of wrongs; the vast majority refused to identify those
missing as murdered at all. This uncooperative behavior was attributed
to their fatalistic acceptance of all disasters (including,
apparently, cholera, poisonous snakes, and sudden death). Even when
thugs were captured, convicting them was rendered even more
troublesome by the fact that Muslim criminal law disallowed the
testimony of approvers.

The lack of independent witnesses, the unavailability in many cases of
both bodies and booty—the sheer paucity of positivist evidence, in
other words—could only be resolved in one way. The most important
criminal conspiracy of the century (of all time, some of the authors
claimed) could be adequately engaged only by a new conception of law.
Many of the tactics adopted by those spearheading the antithug drive
were not novel but had been pioneered earlier in Bengal; however, it
was the Thuggee and Dacoity Department’s use of these tactics that
proved not only successful but replicable.[50] Since the law as
currently defined made the complicity of individuals in particular
crimes almost impossible to establish, specific criminal acts were no
longer punishable as such. Instead, it was a subject position, or
rather, an ontology, that was criminalized. It was enough to be a
thug, without actually being convicted of a specific act of thuggee,
to be liable to the exorbitant measures of the Thuggee and Dacoity
Department. As Radhika Singha wrote, “The strangest feature of this
enactment was the use of a cant term ‘Thugs’ without explaining what
precisely the offence of ‘Thuggee’ was. That such a term was
acceptable at a time when a penal code upholding precision and
exactness was on the agenda is an indication of the success of a
publicist campaign in official circles.” [51] Act XXX of 1836 directed
that any person who was convicted of “having belonged to a gang of
Thugs, [was] liable to the penalty of imprisonment for life; and
[that] any person, accused of the offence, made punishable by the Act,
[was] liable to be tried by any Court, which would have been competent
to try him, if his offence had been committed within the district
where that Court sits.” [52] (Act XXIV of 1843 extended the punitive
sanctions of the thuggee laws to those found guilty of belonging to
dacoit gangs.) Act XXX also dispensed with the last vestiges of Muslim
criminal law (which is said to have provided greater protections for
the accused and greater clemency for the convicted than the Thuggee
and Dacoity Department thought advisable for those standing trial as
thugs) by doing away with the necessity for the fatwa (formal legal
opinion) of the Muslim law officer. It applied with retrospective
effect, and it established special courts for the trial of thugs—
including those captured outside company territory, within the
kingdoms of the Indian princes—often with special magistrates
appointed by the governor-general. It permitted the arrest of entire
families, including women and children, as legitimate means of
entrapping active (male) thugs; since thuggee was supposed to be a
family affair anyway, transmitted in the genes and passed on from
father to son, wives and children were also fit targets for the
colonial state’s punitive and corrective measures. The act admitted
the testimony of approvers in lieu of the testimony of independent
witnesses (which had been disallowed under Islamic law), a move which
created a remarkable mechanics of truth production and conviction.
(Act XIX of 1837, under the direction of Macaulay, did away with this
“dual standard of evidence” in criminal law by making the testimony of
approvers admissible in all courts of law, not just those prosecuting
cases of thuggee.)[53] Yet it is by no means to be assumed that
empiricism and observation were peripheral to the process, though it
was observation of a very carefully demarcated kind; there is in the
colonial archive an overwhelming weight given to the experiential
dimension of the knowledge of such canonical figures as Sleeman. All
disagreements encountered on the British side are attributed to
inexperience, to the lack of a proper interpretive framework within
which to place certain kinds of discoveries, or to a willful
ingenuousness about the success of British rule.

The definition of thuggee as a form of hereditary, corporate, and
religiously sanctioned identity allowed for no appeal by a thug
convicted under its special decrees; in theory—and in practice—there
was no such entity as an innocent thug. All those identified as thugs
by approvers’ testimony were automatically guilty, even if no specific
crimes could be proved against them and even if there was no (other)
evidence of their ever having associated with other thugs. Once the
thug hunts began, criminal activity was not always necessary for
arrest and conviction; even those “thugs” engaged in “honest
labour” (a theoretical impossibility, given the terms of the
discourse) were rounded up, tried, convicted, and imprisoned since the
compelling, hereditary lure of thuggee was always latent in the thug.
An overwhelmingly high proportion of those arrested were convicted, a
fact which validated, the Thuggee and Dacoity Department believed, the
thoroughness of its efforts and the justice of its cause.

Confessions were key to the discursive constitution of thuggee; not so
much at the actual thug trials as in the manifold accounts of thuggee
that were produced in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Meadows
Taylor’s novel, as far as structural organization is concerned, reads
not very differently from the nonfictional official accounts of
thuggee: a brief introduction followed by hundreds of pages of
confession, interspersed more and more intermittently by the
narrator’s moral commentary. The confessional mode lent itself nicely
to the narrative conventions and imperatives of the nineteenth-century
English novel, which encompassed both the Newgate novel and the
spiritual autobiography.

One of the best approvers, Bukhtawar, provided a confession (which I
quoted at the beginning of this chapter) that was a model for all thug
confessions: “I am a Thug, my father and grandfather were Thugs, and I
have thugged with many. Let the government employ me and I will do its
work.” [54] The confessions serve not to elicit what is not already
known but to authenticate and authorize official knowledge of thuggee
in general and specific crimes in particular, as well as to produce
the thug as (colonial) criminal subject. For Foucault, the confession
“transcend[s] all other evidence; an element in the calculation of the
truth, it [is] also the act by which the accused accept[s] the charge
and recognize[s] its truth; it transform[s] an investigation carried
out without him into a voluntary affirmation. Through the confession,
the accused himself [takes] part in the ritual of producing penal
truth.” [55] In the eyes of the Thuggee and Dacoity Department, a
failure to confess was evidence less of innocence than of hardihood
and an acquaintance with the byzantine ramifications of Indian
criminal law.

And yet these confessions that dominate and drive all accounts of
thuggee are not confessions as such, but approver’s testimonies; the
two, as Shahid Amin so appositely reminds us, are not identical. For
while the confession proper seeks to dilute the guilt of the
confessing subject, the approver’s testimony, to be fully credible in
the eyes of the law, must implicate its speaker as fully as possible
in the illegality being described.[56]

The fact that approvers’ testimony was “tainted” and that they might
either wittingly or unwittingly implicate the innocent was undeniably
an issue, though anxiety on the score was aired only to be promptly
shown up as unfounded. The thuggee records continually stress the ways
in which the truth of each approver’s testimony was tested against all
the others. But even in these official accounts, it does not escape
remark that the approvers’ testimony regarding dates and other details
do not always match,[57] though all discursive contradictions are
always sought to be smoothed away. Bruce, who is the only one to raise
overtly the possibility of the conviction of the innocent, blames not
the system but its most visible instruments, the approvers: “Were
innocent men convicted upon the evidence of revengeful informers?.…
Those Thugs who were no longer free to strangle on the roads may have
conspired together to send victims to the gallows instead, for by
killing in this way they could at once show Kali their continued
devotion and save their own lives.” [58] These testimonies were not
required, under Act XXX, to be matched against the reports of
independent witnesses or against the weight of circumstantial
evidence; and none of the accused had the benefit of counsel, so the
approvers were never cross-examined by anyone other than the officers
of the Thuggee and Dacoity Department.

Even though the approvers were indispensable for forming the text of
thuggee and for prosecuting thugs, their own status remained somewhat
nebulous. On making “a full and ingenuous confession,” an approver
would be eligible to have his sentence of hanging or transportation
commuted. But an approver could never be released, since the lure of
the rumal made him irreclaimable for honest society. It was also
necessary that all approvers be convicted (not just arrested) thugs,
since it was contrary to the nature of British justice to hold its
subjects indefinitely without trial. How, though, could the government
convict approvers when it had no evidence except for what they
provided? The solution was to advise approvers to plead guilty to the
general charge of being thugs, under the provisions of Act XXX, rather
than to plead guilty to the charge of committing specific capital
crimes (which could result in the death penalty); this would ensure
their conviction, and then they could be held for life without
questioning the authority that held them.[59] It was easier and more
useful to hold approvers than to hang them; and they needed to be held
forever in order to ensure the uninterrupted production of truths
about thuggee. The above proceeding did away with the necessity of a
regular trial (that is to say, one conducted under the special courts
established by Act XXX) by having one whose outcome was known in
advance; and it guaranteed that there would be no escape from the
government’s mercy.

Truth production and conviction was only part of the job of the
Thuggee and Dacoity Department. Rehabilitation was also part of the
program, though the official wisdom on rehabilitation was marked by
considerable ambivalence. To be a part of a moral narrative, the
antithug campaign could not be purely punitive in nature, especially
in the instance of those prisoners who had not been convicted of
particular capital crimes. At the same time, if thugs were hereditary
murderers who found the call to blood irresistible, they were not
reformable subjects. The government’s response to the problem of
identity and rehabilitation was, even in its own terms, a markedly
uneven and patently hierarchized one. Some of the most distinguished
among the thugs were recruited into the police force. Some others were
rewarded by W. H. Sleeman by being allowed to live near him with their
families and followers in his compound, an arrangement about which
Freitag observes: “The similarity between the spatial and
psychological configurations of his compound and those of thag-
landlord relations in a village is not coincidental.” [60] Other thug
approvers and prisoners and their families were settled in colonies
and put to manual labor; from being dishonest and itinerant, they were
compelled to be poor and settled. The focus of reform was the children
of the thugs: they were taught various skills, though not taught to
read and write (because it would make them dissatisfied with their
condition). The sexuality of the sons of the thugs was strictly
regulated; they were not allowed to marry and breed a new generation
of thugs. (A female thug was a rarity and was, presumably, a less
potent conduit of the genetic material of hereditary criminality than
was a male.)

Mature thugs, however, were less easily assimilable into a regime of
morality and normalcy. Even captured thugs and informers emerge in the
reports as notoriously impervious to all efforts at moral
transformation. They repudiate repentance and reform, ascribing their
cooperation entirely to pragmatic motives and describing their
activities in professional terms, without the obligatory change of
heart normally central to the confessional narrative. Not only that,
they understand their present circumstances in terms of their failure
to observe omens and follow proscriptions and to be fully professional
about their work; the official success against themselves is simply
the result of the East India Company’s iqbal (good fortune), not its
moral or religious superiority or even its greater strategic skill.
They seem to refuse in other words to be drawn into the moral
narrative of the civilizing mission (though it must always be
remembered that the production of the thug as unreformable subject was
not necessarily contrary to the aims of the discourse on thuggee). The
following is a typical exchange; the questioner is presumably W. H.
Sleeman, the respondents thug informers:

Q:
If Davey’s displeasure visits all who punish Thugs, how is it that you
all escape so well?

Moradun:
Davey’s anger visited us when we were seized. That was the effect of
her resentment; she cast us off then and takes no notice of us now.

Q:
And if you were to return to Thuggee, she would still guide and
protect you?

Moradun:
Yes, but what gang would now receive us?

Q:
And are you not afraid to assist in suppressing Thuggee?

Moradun:
No; we see God is assisting you, and that Davey has withdrawn her
protection on account of our transgressions. We have sadly neglected
her worship. God knows in what it will all end.

Q:
True, God only knows; but we hope it will end in the entire
suppression of this wicked and foolish system; and in the conviction
on your part that Davey has really nothing to do with it.

Nasir:
That Davey instituted Thuggee, and supported it as long as we attended
to her omens, and observed the rules framed by the wisdom of our
ancestors, nothing in the world can ever make us doubt.[61]

• • •

The Englishman

This section, on The Deceivers, John Masters’s novel about thuggee,
serves as a (deconstructive) supplement to the official narrative of
the thug, in taking up some of the questions and figures that occupy a
recessive status in that account. Here we see that if the thug of the
archive provides one (admittedly slippery and fixed at the same time)
model of staging identities, there is another model that is crucial
for a comprehension of the thug-English engagement. This model is the
obverse of the process that generates the mimic man of colonial
discourse; it is the lure of going native. The term here both
resonates with and fails to correspond to the mimetic model provided
by Burton in the last chapter.[62] The will to mimicry governs
(Indian) thug and Englishman alike, as we shall see in The Deceivers,
where the plot is driven—as is the thug archive—by a fascination with
the absent and never fully recuperable thug. In engaging this
scenario, the novel also recasts the paradigmatic narrative of
mimicry, in which the native may mimic the colonizer but without any
access to essential Englishness, while the colonizer can trade
identities freely, with no strings attached, without actually being
interpellated as a colonized subject. The Deceivers makes manifest the
precariousness of such self-possession.

The dialectical dependence of the fantasy of complete knowledge on the
paranoid fear of native inscrutability is staged in this novel, where
there is a suturing of the ostensibly antithetical figures of the
English policeman and the thug approver. This novel allows for an
examination of the tension between the received wisdom about thuggee
and some of the marginal issues located at the pressure points of the
official discourse. This novel tells the story of William Savage, a
mediocre and distinctly unheroic English magistrate. Wracked by sexual
and professional anxieties, an alienated subject of the British
colonial machine in India, and sneakingly sympathetic to such Indian
customs as sati, he transforms himself into the exemplary colonial
officer by taking on—albeit temporarily—the calling of the thug. At
the urging of his young wife, Mary, he initially takes on the persona
of the absent Gopal the weaver in order to save Gopal’s wife from
sati; he, however, meets the renegade thug Hussein and decides to
continue as Gopal in order to track down the thugs. Once he assumes
the role, he finds himself powerfully drawn to the practice and goes
on to become a noted thug leader. He does not continue as a thug, of
course—even though at one point Hussein suggests to Savage that the
East India Company become a sponsor of thugs, like the other rulers of
the land; with a little help from his newly (re)constructed
Englishness and his friends, he returns to propriety at the end. (The
Merchant Ivory film production is even more skeptical than the novel
is of the progressivist teleology of the civilizing mission, as well
as of its “success”: in the film, George Angelsmith is led off in
chains, but Savage, estranged from his wife and his Christian god and
unable to prevent the sati that he has actually made possible, is
destined to be perpetually haunted by Kali.)

The Deceivers considers the unspoken and unspeakable possibility that
subtends so much of colonial discourse: what if identity can be
unhinged from race and national origin? And if (racial/national)
identity is unstable and subject to negotiation with each crossing of
a frontier, then in the name of what telos or destiny does Englishness
speak? What if, as R. Radhakrishnan so compellingly asks, on the
subject of diasporic, transnational culture, “identities and
ethnicities are not a matter of fixed and stable selves but rather the
results and products of fortuitous travels and recontextualizations?…
Is ethnicity nothing but, to use the familiar formula, what ethnicity
does?” [63] In the more lurid enactments of this alternative history,
a Kurtz, representing the loftiest intellectual and ethical
possibilities of the Enlightenment, can “go native” in the Dark
Continent. But, closer to “home,” there were, as Arnold has revealed,
more troubling English subjects—those poor white orphans and vagrants
(who were to have their own moment of glory in Kim) who lived lives
not often distinguishable from those of lower-class Indians.[64]
William Savage, the protagonist of The Deceivers, is located somewhere
between these two subject positions.

Despite the putative restoration to wholeness, Englishness, and
legality of William Savage at the close of the story, the narrative
nonetheless opens up a space for investigating the “double and split
subject” of the colonial enunciation, for what Bhabha calls—in the
context of the nation’s fissured enunciation—“dissemi-nation”: “a
space that is internally marked by cultural difference and the
heterogeneous histories of contending peoples, antagonistic
authorities, and tense cultural locations.” [65] As in the case of so
many other Englishmen, Savage will have to turn to Indianness in order
to return to or consolidate or improve his English self; in doing so,
he will come back as a new and more English Englishman, but he will
also, temporarily at least, be transformed into a border subject,
changed by his experience of Indianness, surrendering illusions of
full autonomy and Englishness in the crossing of boundaries. Here I
invoke Burton again as a point of reference. Burton had an
occasionally vexed relationship with national identity: his ancestry
was partly Irish and Welsh, and he grew up on the Continent, only
coming to live in England in his late teens. Yet for him identity,
whatever guises it might assume and however far it might roam, is
usually more persuasively anchored than is that of Masters’s
protagonist in an imperial Englishness. Burton can be, at different
times, a West Asian merchant or a Muslim hajji, but his identities are
clearly hierarchized and more manipulable than Savage’s. While the
success of his passing is always, in a sense, conditional upon his
being a man from elsewhere/nowhere, he can also claim nativeness as
his own production, wrenching an (imaginary) autonomy from the
dominion of necessity. Savage passes through Indianness en route to
Englishness, but, unlike Burton, he cannot pass in and out without
constraint. Indianness, while indispensable to Englishness, must also
be violently cast out if Englishness is to be secure(d). In The
Deceivers, identity is the locus of strain and contradiction. For
Savage, identity cannot be expansive, assimilationist, and pluralist;
each new identity competes with and displaces the last. That is why
Savage can at the end afford to take no prisoners or recruit any
approvers from among his erstwhile comrades; the thugs whom he has led
and who are now pursuing him must be wiped out in an act of punitive
and frenzied brutality that not only precludes the need for approvers
but also does away with any witnesses against, and rem(a)inders of,
his own thug self.

The Deceivers stages, indeed foregrounds, the positionality and
politics of that ordinarily self-effacing hero of thug narration, the
investigator, and the plurality of determinations that produces him.
In this context, Gayatri Spivak’s cautionary reminders about the
urgent necessity of disallowing the neutrality of the intellectual or
investigator should be borne in mind. In “Can the Subaltern Speak?”
she proffers a critique of the sanctioned myopia of the Foucault and
Deleuze of “Intellectuals and Power,” who are unable or unwilling to
acknowledge the complicity of the intellectual in the mechanisms that
produce representations of subaltern subjects and groups and who fail
to recognize that subaltern subjects are constrained to fashion
themselves in terms of already scripted epistemologies.[66] Her
introduction to Mahasweta Devi’s “Draupadi” resonates with, and
provides another useful point of entry into, this problematic of
reading and engagement; the usefulness of deconstruction, she tells
us, lies in “the recognition,…of provisional and intractable starting
points in any investigative effort; its disclosure of complicities
where a will to knowledge would create oppositions; its insistence
that in disclosing complicities the critic-as-subject is herself
complicit with the object of her critique; its emphasis upon ‘history’
and upon the ethico-political as the ‘trace’ of that complicity—the
proof that we do not inhabit a clearly defined critical space free of
such traces.” [67] Where in the archives the English scribe was
progressively effaced from the scene of the crime as well as the scene
of writing, no such modesty is permitted the protagonist of Masters’s
novel. The novel accents above all his position of enunciation. He
cannot be, as in the normative thug account, the neutral conduit of
something clearly identified as a thug consciousness: the thug’s voice
cannot but inscribe Savage as both subject and object of his own
discourse.

The central aspect of Savage’s mission is not merely to bear witness;
he must above all produce a record, transform that irreducible
obscurity, that absence that is Indian corporate criminal activity,
into what Spivak terms an “interpretable text.” This of course was the
primary gift of Sleeman and his associates to the criminal justice
system in colonial India—to synthesize various and discrepant
occurrences as a semiosis under centralized control; against thuggee—
conceived of as a vast, well-articulated, and centralized conspiracy—
could be opposed the concentrated power/knowledge of the state. What
is required is a text and a model of reading that is reproducible in
the different temporalities and contexts of the colonial polity in
India. However, the novel intimates the limitations and complexities
of authorial intention. Savage produces his account in a condition of
profound subjective instability, opening his text up to multiple and
mutually contentious readings: “He had met hundreds of other
Deceivers, and the notes were a complete tale of all he had seen and
heard and done; of all the Deceivers who had engaged in any action,
with their descriptions, habits, and homes; of each murder, and how it
had gone, and how it might have been prevented—or improved upon. The
words could be read for either purpose, according to the spirit of the
reader” (p. 223). Above all, Savage’s account draws attention to the
transactional nature of reading. What ought to be a classic of
information retrieval and a master text on thuggee for colonial
authority is also a text for other thugs, a manual for reproducing
thug practice. Savage’s text (within the text of the Masters novel),
even though cast in the model of strict representational realism, is
susceptible of an Other reading; its meanings are ambushed, deflected,
and augmented en route to a destination it can never reach. The
Thuggee and Dacoity Department strove to produce, in its extensive
records on thug affiliation and activity, a text without nuances or
fissures, something that was not susceptible of any misreadings or
contesting interpretations. It sought, in its meticulous record
keeping and its attempts to square all the approvers’ testimonies with
each other and make them speak with one voice, to produce a record
that would have what was presumed to be the authority of material
fact. But for Savage, at least, it is impossible to engage in such an
enterprise without also inscribing his own complicity in his
testimonial. In this respect, he does approximate the classic approver
of the Thuggee and Dacoity Department, who cannot bear witness against
others without simultaneously bearing witness against himself.

While the novel insists that only impersonation can yield the truth,
it also illuminates the heterodox desires that underlie the exercise
of going native. Moreover, this impersonation is quite detached from
any agency on the part of William Savage and from any sense of
originary identity. Forced into the disguise of the Indian weaver
Gopal (by the patel [village headman] Chandra Sen) in an unwilling and
ultimately fruitless attempt to save a would-be sati, he is recognized
as an impostor by Hussein. Hussein is ideal material for an approver:
he has brains, courage, and resourcefulness, and he is remarkably
eager to undo the institution of thuggee, but his testimony alone is
not enough to compel belief in the practice. So he recruits an
Englishman to the anti-thuggee cause, knowing that only he can be
fully convincing as a figure of knowledge. And this knowledge can only
be acquired experientially, and by going outside the law as currently
constituted, as Savage learns when he follows the more conventional
methods of information retrieval. As Hussein says,

Several times some English official or other has got hold of
information about us. Then he has chased us out of his district, and
reported, I suppose. But they’ve never worked together, and it always
blew over. They’ll never destroy us until one of them finds out
everything, and forces the Lat Sahib [the governor-general] to believe
everything, and plans a campaign to cover all India. And that one who
finds out must fear Kali, or he will not understand her. But he must
not love her. (p. 208)

Unable to ignore the thugs as the other English functionaries are
ready to do, eager to discard the Englishness he so uncomfortably
inhabits, and pressured by Hussein and Mary, Savage decides to
continue as Gopal the weaver, who, as it turns out, is also Gopal the
thug. For an unsuccessful and insecure man like Savage, wracked by
anxieties about (heterosexual) masculinity and Englishness, it is the
very abdication of authority involved in playing a thug that is
peculiarly attractive; inhabiting the subject position of the most
criminalized and most scrutinized indigenous subject holds out the
promise of psychic satisfactions not ordinarily available to colonial
authority.

The novel dallies with the idea (as many crime fictions often do,
though less explicitly) of the fragility of the barriers that separate
the custodian of law and morality from the criminal. It actually makes
available the proposition (though it has to drop it at the end) that
Savage is at heart a thug and that his initiation into thuggee by
Hussein is no accident. He takes naturally to the trade, is attended
by good omens, and enjoys a facility of thought, speech, and action
that is alien to his English self. The idea of mimicry itself is
transformed in his performance of it and begins to assume to assume
the contours of possession, if not those of originary identity. There
is no difference for him between the mimicry of an identity and the
identity itself.

In order to pass for an Indian or a thug (ultimately these two
categories are collapsed, as we have seen in the other narratives of
thuggee) Savage must slough off certain normative aspects of
Englishness in the tropics—the militant Christianity, the revulsion
against disease and cruelty, the reforming impulse. He must instead
embrace what is described as the nondualistic moral economy of
Hinduism that sees both creation and destruction as suffused with the
divine. Needless to say, the psychic territory of “India” is always
coextensive with Hinduism, despite the fact that Muslims as well as
other religious groups are shown to practice thuggee as much as do
Hindus; and this Hinduism is consistently and exclusively fetishized
as blood lust and hyperbolic sexuality. As an Indian, and Hindu, and
thug, Savage must participate in a series of paradoxes. He must be
Indian, and thug, to return more securely to Englishness, and
legitimacy; he must allow evil to be done in order to do good; and,
since the contexts of legality are always shifting and are
particularly in need of redefinition in India, he must go outside the
law in order to uphold the law. Always relatively indifferent to the
finer points of legal procedure and defendants’ rights (here written
as an inaptitude for “paperwork”), the antithug drive allows him to
rethink the concepts of justice and legality in the colonial context,
where it is notoriously difficult to punish crime anyway:

“What does justice mean?”…“Fair trial, the rules of evidence, no
double hazard, no hearsay, and so on and so on? Or protection against
injustice, against violence? The means, or the end?.…Oh, I know we
have no evidence about them yet. That’s just what I mean. I tell you,
sir, they cannot be run down within our rule of law. Indians aren’t
English. “No man dies by the hand of man,” they think, so they won’t
give evidence because they are not angry with the murderers. They
think men who kill are driven by God to kill. And there are too many
jurisdictions, too far to go to give evidence, too long to wait. We’ve
got to go outside the law to catch them, to prevent more
murders.” (pp. 128–29)

Caught between a colonial government and an Indian populace unwilling,
for different reasons, to do what is necessary to end thuggee and
pressured, moreover, by Hussein, Savage becomes Gopal again, only more
completely in earnest this time. In his new role Savage discovers that
passing for a thug involves a radical (re)contextualization of his
once and future Englishness. Moreover, as Gopal he has to inhabit a
role and a history that is already in place. Impersonation involves
not freedom but strict adherence to a scripted identity; he cannot
start afresh, or make himself up as he goes along. He discovers that
as Gopal, he is already an expert strangler and strategist, destined
to be “the greatest the Deceivers have ever known” (p. 218). And once
he participates in the sacramental ritual of gur-sharing and tastes
the transubstantiated body of the goddess, his allegiance and destiny
are fixed. Savage is born to thuggee, as his comfort in his role of
thug demonstrates; indeed, his story undoes the usual weighting of
“self” and “role” in the Englishman’s subjectivity, since he is more
convincing (to himself, and apparently to Indians and Englishmen
alike) and comfortable as Indian and thug than as Englishman and
Christian. Hussein, who is more percipient than he about the
complexities of subject formation, reminds him that “free will” is an
adjunct (or an illusion) of Englishness alone. Savage must find out
that intentions guarantee nothing; not even the Englishman, once he
has decided to play the Indian, can escape the formulaic constraints
of Indian/thug ontology: “You are a Deceiver, from this dawn on for
ever. A strangler. Only stranglers may stand on the blanket: you stood
on it. Only stranglers may take the consecrated sugar of communion:
you took it. It doesn’t matter what a man thinks he is. When he eats
consecrated sugar, on the blanket, in front of the pick-axe, he is a
strangler, because Kali enters into him.” (p. 182)

Such a script also demands of course that he confront his double, the
original Gopal. In order to protect himself and in order to wrest some
autonomy for himself, Savage strangles Gopal and thus becomes Gopal
himself. But strangling the “real Gopal” only makes him more fully
Gopal, for he can now develop into his predestined role. From this
point on, all paradoxes are held in abeyance. From being complicit in
murder through inaction Savage proceeds to strangulation himself and
becomes, in an extraordinary take on the man-who-would-be-king vision
that tropes so much colonial discourse, a noted leader of thugs. Like
Burton the Muslim, Savage the thug is characterized not simply by
mastery but by an extraordinary surplus of subject effects. (Unlike
Burton, though, he is tempted, and he is corrupted—although not
irredeemably.)

The desire for Gopal, which is closely articulated with the desire to
be Gopal, is mediated, interestingly enough, through the figure of the
sati who frames the novel and who foregrounds the question of gender
that has been bypassed or placed under erasure in the thuggee
archives. I find the entry into thuggee through sati to be a
particularly productive conjuncture for the problematic of mimicry,
identity, and the colonizer’s desire. The sati, most obviously,
provides an occasion for access to Gopal. The sati has to be set up in
the beginning so that Savage can play Gopal; and then it has to be
deferred so that he can continue to play Gopal and go in search of
Gopal. Her presence in the novel displaces homoerotic desire and
returns Savage to heterosexuality. It also ensures his successful
miming of Indianness and Englishness. But the consolidation of
heterosexuality, masculinity, and Englishness demands not simply her
presence but her death. She is insistently narrativized as a voluntary
sati; she is a romanticized figure, whose sacrifice Savage has no
desire to thwart. He desires her, and his desire for her takes the
form of wanting her to die for him, which he ensures by killing Gopal.
In this way, he can enjoy the satisfactions of Indian as well as
English masculinity. As an Indian, he can have the woman die for him
(and deliver him of his sexual anxieties); but being fully Indian also
means that he himself must die, for the sati requires a dead husband.
As an Englishman, therefore, he can distance himself from the violent
implications of Indianness. The sati’s death releases him from the
exigent identity of the Indianness into which he had temporarily
descended and frees him to enact the rituals of Englishness with
greater plausibility. The most convincing Englishman—as indeed the
most expert thug—turns out to be the mimic man after all.

• • •

Afterword

Masters’s novel serves in many ways as the most apt of epilogues to
the colonial accounts of thuggee, given its excavation of the erotic/
affective and metaphysical seductions of that institution—and of the
thug—for English masculinity in the tropics and given its suggestion
that the lure of the thug for the Englishman may be as compelling as
that of thuggee for the (Indian) thug. It charges the project of
unveiling and chastisement with a profusion of guilty, even delirious,
appetites and obsessions that call for continual incitement and
consummation. It does not, of course, fail to play upon the received
colonial narrative of thuggee as timeless Indian duplicity; but it
also reconfigures it as an erotic tale of the fraternal, closeted, and
homicidal desire that drives Indian and English impersonation. Perhaps
most remarkably, it showcases the seamless self-referentiality of the
discourse on thuggee (as evidenced in an archive composed of
biographies, histories, novels, legal records, and rumors) by
collapsing the thug and the thug hunter into a single figure; with a
literalism quite unprecedented in any of the other texts it confirms
that wherever there is an Englishman there is a thug.

Notes

1. Radhika Singha, “‘Providential’ Circumstances: The Thuggee Campaign
of the 1830s and Legal Innovation,” Modern Asian Studies 27 (February
1993): 83.

2. Guha, “Historiography of Colonial India.”

3. Ranajit Guha, “The Prose of Counter-Insurgency,” in Subaltern
Studies II: Writings on South Asian History and Society, ed. Ranajit
Guha (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983). Also see Ranajit
Guha, Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India
(Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983).

4. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “Deconstructing Historiography,” in In
Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics (New York and London:
Routledge, 1987), 204.

5. This is not to suggest that Bhabha forecloses on any of these other
possibilities.

6. James Hutton, A Popular Account of the Thugs and Dacoits, the
Hereditary Garroters and Gang-Robbers of India (London: W. H. Allen,
1857), 90–91.

7. Reproduced in George Bruce, The Stranglers: The Cult of Thuggee and
Its Overthrow in British India (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World,
1968), 13–26.

8. Philip Meadows Taylor, “Introduction,” in Confessions of a Thug
(London: Richard Bentley, 1858 [1839]), 5.

9. A. J. Wightman, No Friend for Travellers (London: Robert Hale,
1959), 15.

10. See Francis C. Tuker, The Yellow Scarf: The Story of the Life of
Thuggee Sleeman (London: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1961), 197–98.

11. Geoff Bennington, “Postal Politics and the Institution of the
Nation,” in Nation and Narration, ed. Homi K. Bhabha (London and New
York: Routledge, 1990).

12. Sandria Freitag argues that thugs were—in contrast to members of
criminal castes and tribes—regarded as “admirable and awesome
opponents.” See her “Crime in the Social Order of Colonial North
India,” Modern Asian Studies 25, no. 2 (1991): 227–61. While some of
this horrified admiration does inform Wightman and Meadows Taylor’s
representations, such admiration is more usually carefully repressed;
there is, in fact, an interesting tension between the awe-inspiring
(if damnable) thug of these texts and the contemptible figure that the
other texts strenuously accentuate.

13. James Sleeman, Thug, or A Million Murders (London: Sampson Low,
Marston, 1933 [1920]), 5.

14. Sir George MacMunn, The Religions and Hidden Cults of India
(London: Sampson Low, Marston, 1931), 172–73. See, too, Meadows
Taylor, “Introduction,” i:

At the present time it [the novel] may deserve a more attentive study;
recent events will have too well prepared the Reader’s mind for
implicit belief in all the systematic atrocities narrated.…It will
scarcely fail to be remarked, with what consummate art such numerous
bodies of men were organized, and for a long time kept absolutely
unknown, while committing acts of cruelty and rapine hardly
conceivable;…Captain Taylor’s Introduction…may…furnish some clue to
the successful concealment of a rebellion, in the existence of which
many of our oldest and most experienced officers, and men high in
authority, absolutely withheld belief, till too late and too cruelly
convinced of their fatal error.

15. Katherine Mayo, Mother India (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1927).

16. Hiralal Gupta, “A Critical Study of the Thugs and Their
Activities,” Journal of Indian History, 37, part 2 (August 1959),
serial no. 110: 169–77.

17. Sandria B. Freitag, “Collective Crime and Authority in North
India,” in Crime and Criminality in British India, ed. Anand Yang
(Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1985), 158–61.

18. Stewart N. Gordon, “Scarf and Sword: Thugs, Marauders, and State-
Formation in 18th Century Malwa,” Indian Economic and Social History
Review 6 (December 1969): 403–29. It should be noted that Gordon does
not ascribe the activities of the marauding groups to “Oriental
anarchy” or oppose “marauders” to “states,” arguing that both entities
had the same ends in view and were using the same methods of
legitimation, though with differing degrees of success.

19. J. Sleeman, Thug, 108.

20. David Arnold, Police Power and Colonial Rule: Madras 1859–1947
(Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1986), 3. He notes the transformation
of the Thuggee and Dacoity Department into the Central Intelligence
Department in 1904; this body shifted its initial focus on wandering
gangs and criminals to “the collation of political intelligence,
relaying information about political leaders and organizations to the
various provinces concerned” (p. 187).

21. Freitag, “Collective Crime and Authority,” 142.

22. Freitag, “Crime in the Social Order,” 230.

23. Ibid., 234.

24. Fanny Parks, Wanderings of a Pilgrim in Search of the Picturesque
(Karachi and London: Oxford University Press, 1975 [1850]), 1: 153.

25. Kali became a figure of increasing respectability in the
nineteenth century; before this she was a deity adored (in Bengal at
least) largely though not exclusively by tribal and other subaltern
subjects, including thugs and dacoits. It is not clear if Kali was
identical with other female deities addressed as Devi or Bhawani.

26. See, for instance, Nicholas B. Dirks, “Castes of Mind,”
Representations 37 (Winter 1992): 59: “It is increasingly clear that
colonialism in India produced new forms of society that have been
taken to be traditional, and that caste itself as we now know it is
not a residual survival of ancient India but a specifically colonial
form of civil society. As such it both justifies and maintains the
colonial vision of an India where religion transcends politics,
society resists change, and the state awaits its virgin birth in the
postcolonial era.”

27. This had not, of course, been entirely true for Burton, perhaps
because of his sojourn in Sind or his early studies in Arabic. As
might be expected, the particular discourse being engaged would
determine the Hinduness, or otherwise, of the territory designated
“India.”

28. Lata Mani, “Contentious Traditions,” in The Nature and Context of
Minority Discourse, ed. Abdul JanMohamed and David Lloyd (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1990).

29. John Masters, The Deceivers (New York: Carroll and Graf, 1952),
240. All further references to this novel will be incorporated
parenthetically into the text.

30. Charles Hervey, Some Records of Crime (Being the Diary of a Year,
Official and Particular, of an Officer of the Thuggee and Dacoitie
Police) (London: Sampson Low, Marston, 1892), 1: 50–51.

31. Ranjit Sen, Social Banditry in Bengal: A Study in Primary
Resistance, 1757–1793 (Calcutta: Ratna Prakashan, 1988), 2–3.

32. Sanjay Nigam, “Disciplining and Policing the ‘Criminals by
Birth,’” Indian Economic and Social History Review 27, no. 2 (1990):
131–64; 27, no. 3 (1990): 259–87.

33. Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, trans. Robert Hurley
(New York: Vintage Books, 1978), 1: 43.

34. Radhika Singha argues that “the introduction of laws dealing with
ill-defined ‘criminal communities’ introduced certain fissures into
the ideology of the equal, abstract and universal legal
subject” (“‘Providential’ Circumstances,” 86, n. 10).

35. Edward Thornton, Illustrations of the History and Practices of the
Thugs (London: W. H. Allen, 1837), 145–46. This frankness is
relatively rare in the writings on thuggee; the issue of the
genuineness of the confessions, though, is an issue in all, judging
from the unfailing vehemence with which the method of conviction
through approvers’ testimony is defended as just, if not
unexceptionable.

36. Ibid., 374.

37. J. Sleeman, Thug, 120.

38. William H. Sleeman, Ramaseeana, or a Vocabulary of the Peculiar
Language Used by the Thugs (Calcutta: G. H. Huttmann, Military Orphan
Press, 1836), 32–33.

39. Thornton, Illustrations, 70, 11.

40. Wightman, No Friend for Travellers, 112.

41. J. Sleeman, Thug, 106.

42. William H. Sleeman, Report on Budhuk Alias Bagree Dacoits and
Other Gang Robbers by Hereditary Profession (Calcutta: J. C. Sherriff,
Bengal Military Orphan Press, 1849), 2–3.

43. Foucault, History of Sexuality, 1: 35.

44. Homi Bhabha, “Sly Civility” and “Of Mimicry and Man,” in The
Location of Culture.

45. See Mala Sen, India’s Bandit Queen: The True Story of Phoolan Devi
(New Delhi: Indus/HarperCollins, 1991) for an example of the way in
which the colonial discourse of thuggee (in this instance, Tukar’s
Yellow Scarf) continues, in contemporary India, to frame the way in
which certain forms of collective violence are understood by the law-
and-order machinery of the state.

46. Tuker, Yellow Scarf, 38.

47. William H. Sleeman, Rambles and Recollections of an Indian
Official, ed. Vincent A. Smith (London: Humphrey Milford, Oxford
University Press, 1915), 555.

48. Taylor, Confessions of a Thug, 330.

49. W. H. Sleeman, Ramaseeana, 3.

50. Freitag, “Collective Crime and Authority,” 146.

51. Singha, “‘Providential’ Circumstances,” 84.

52. W. H. Sleeman, Report on Budhuk, 173. The thuggee act had the
following provisions:

1.Whoever shall be proved to have belonged, either before or after the
passing of this Act, to any gang of Thugs, either within or without
the Territories of the East India Company, shall be punished with
imprisonment for life, with hard labour.

2.And…every person accused of the offence…may be tried by any court,
which would have been competent to try him, if his offence had been
committed within the Zillah where that Court sits, any thing to the
contrary, in any Regulation contained, notwithstanding.

3.And…no Court shall, on a trial of any person accused of the offence…
require any Futwa from any Law Officer.

53. Singha, “‘Providential’ Circumstances,” 136–37.

54. J. Sleeman, Thug, 117.

55. Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish, trans. Alan Sheridan (New
York: Vintage Books, 1979), 38.

56. Shahid Amin, “Approver’s Testimony, Judicial Discourse: The Case
of Chauri Chaura,” in Subaltern Studies V: Writings on South Asian
History and Society, ed. Ranajit Guha (Delhi: Oxford University Press,
1987).

57. William H. Sleeman, Report on the Depredations Committed by the
Thug Gangs of Upper and Central India (Calcutta: G. H. Huttmann,
Bengal Military Orphan Press, 1840). [BACK]

58. Bruce, Stranglers, 154.

59. W. H. Sleeman, Report on Budhuk, 303–5.

60. Freitag, “Crime in the Social Order,” 236. It is said that thugs
had routinely existed in a symbiotic relationship with landlords,
providing military protection and supplying booty from expeditions in
return for land and respectability. [BACK]

61. W. H. Sleeman, Ramaseeana, 186–87.

62. I should add here that the phrase going native is vested in my
paper with a multiplicity of valences; for instance, it encompasses
both the colonialist desire to “pass for” the native and the condition
that signifies racial regression.

63. R. Radhakrishnan, “Ethnicity in an Age of Diaspora,” Transition 54
(1991): 106.

64. David Arnold, “European Orphans and Vagrants in India in the
Nineteenth Century,” Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 7,
no. 2 (1979): 104–27.

65. Homi K. Bhabha, “DissemiNation: Time, Narrative, and the Margins
of the Modern Nations,” in Nation and Narration, 299.

66. Spivak, “Can the Subaltern Speak?” See Michel Foucault,
“Intellectuals and Power: A Conversation between Michel Foucault and
Gilles Deleuze,” in Language, Counter-Memory, Practice: Selected
Essays and Interviews, by Michel Foucault, trans. Donald F. Bouchard
and Sherry Simon (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1977), 205–
17.

67. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “Translator’s Foreword to ‘Draupadi,’
by Mahasweta Devi,” in In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics
(New York and London: Routledge, 1987), 180.

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turn of the century, is a highly unusual diary of one disciple’s
encounters with his guru and with other disciples over the last four
years (1882–1886) of Ramakrishna’s life. In this text, which is
written in Bengali, Ramakrishna is referred to as thakur, which is
both a common way of designating a Brahman as well as a word meaning
god; “M,” who was a schoolteacher, is called “master” in this work. In
the English translation of 1942 by Swami Nikhilananda, The Gospel of
Sri Ramakrishna (New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1973
[1942]), “the Master” is the standard appellation for Ramakrishna;
this usage may have been popularized by Vivekananda.

3. Partha Chatterjee, “A Religion of Urban Domesticity: Sri
Ramakrishna and the Calcutta Middle Class,” Subaltern Studies VII:
Writings on South Asian History and Society, ed. Partha Chatterjee and
Gyanendra Pandey (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1992), 65.

4. Tapan Raychaudhuri, Europe Reconsidered: Perceptions of the West in
Nineteenth Century Bengal (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1988),
219.

5. Quoted in ibid., 231. For further details, see Swami Saradananda,
Sri Ramakrishna: The Great Master, trans. Swami Jagadananda, 2 vols.
(Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1978 [1952]).

6. There were many references to the Paramhansa in Keshab’s journal,
the New Dispensation, and in the late 1870s Keshab published
Paramhanser Ukti, a ten-page Bengali booklet of Ramakrishna’s sayings.

7. Christopher Isherwood, Ramakrishna and His Disciples (London:
Methuen, 1965), 141. [BACK]

8. Quoted in ibid., 124.

9. Cited in Brian K. Smith, “How Not to Be a Hindu: The Case of the
Ramakrishna Mission,” in Religion and Law in Independent India, ed.
Robert P. Baird (New Delhi: Manohar, 1993), 343–44.

10. Sumit Sarkar, “The Kathamrita as Text: Towards an Understanding of
Ramakrishna Paramhamsa,” Occasional Paper 22 (New Delhi: Nehru
Memorial Museum and Library, 1985), 21 and passim. Also, see Sumit
Sarkar, “‘Kaliyuga,’ ‘Chakri’ and ‘Bhakti’: Ramakrishna and His
Times,” Economic and Political Weekly, 18 July 1992, 1543–66.
Ramakrishna’s disciples claimed that he had gone through his “Muslim”
and “Christian” phases before he met Keshab; please note that all the
dates in Ramakrishna’s life are culled from accounts by devotees and
admirers.

11. The term heterosexuality is here used catachrestically, since
Ramakrishna seems to be obviously outside the formations within which
we would situate “modern” Indian subjects, including Vivekananda. The
very terms homosexuality/heterosexuality (and, indeed, transsexuality,
which may also be said to resonate for Ramakrishna) are too western
and modern to be completely adequate to the task of analysis. I use
them very provisionally, in the absence of another vocabulary and
epistemology that might enable me to understand premodern, Indian/
Hindu conceptualizations of sexuality. In this context, I am reminded
of Diana Fuss’s generous and sensitive reading of Fanon’s claim (in
Black Skin, White Masks) that there is no (male) homosexuality in the
Antilles (“Interior Colonies,” 33):

Fanon’s insistence that there is no homosexuality in the Antilles may
convey a more trenchant meaning than the one he in fact intended: if
by ‘homosexuality’ one understands the culturally specific social
formations of same-sex desire as they are articulated in the West,
then they are indeed foreign to the Antilles.…Can one generalize from
the particular forms sexuality takes under Western capitalism to
sexuality as such? What kinds of colonizations do such discursive
translations perform on ‘other’ traditions of sexual differences?

Such a caution must be borne in mind, even as one cannot but deploy,
however hesitantly, the idioms of modern western sexualities. See
Jeffrey Kripal, Kali’s Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life
and Teachings of Ramakrishna (Chicago and London: University of
Chicago Press, 1995) for a careful and fascinating reading of the
relationship of Ramakrishna’s “homosexuality” to his mysticism. I
regret that I have not been able to make fuller use of the Kripal
text, which was published after this chapter was written.

12. Chatterjee, “Religion of Urban Domesticity”, 60–61.

13. S. Sarkar, “Kathamrita as Text,” 50–71.

14. Chatterjee, “Religion of Urban Domesticity”, 45. Sumit Sarkar
claims, moreover, that the period of Ramakrishna’s popularity
coincided with a “kind of hiatus in bhadralok history,” when dreams of
social reform had been frustrated, official racism was marked, and
liberation through the overthrow of British rule not really
conceivable (“‘Kaliyuga,’ ‘Chakri’ and ‘Bhakti,’” 1547).

15. It is interesting to note that the disciples of Ramakrishna,
notably Vivekananda, preferred the term kamkanchan, “lust-and-gold,”
over the Master’s kaminikanchan and went to great lengths to explain
that the sage’s “symbolic” use of the term did not imply any
misogyny.

16. Nikhilananda, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, 701. All subsequent
references will be incorporated parenthetically into the text.

17. This insight derives in a general way from Carole-Anne Tyler’s
reading of the ambivalent politics of gay drag (“Boys Will Be Girls:
The Politics of Gay Drag,” in Inside/Out: Lesbian Theories, Gay
Theories, ed. Diana Fuss [New York: Routledge, 1990]) as well from
Kaja Silverman’s account of the mastery permitted by T. E. Lawrence’s
reflexive masochism (“White Skin, Brown Masks”). In The Inner World: A
Psychoanalytic Study of Childhood and Society in India (Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 1978), 103, Sudhir Kakar characterizes Hindu
transvestism thus: “Rituals such as these represent not only the boy’s
attempt to identify with his mother but also the man’s effort to free
himself from her domination. By trying to be like women—wearing their
clothes, acquiring their organs, giving birth—these men are also
saying that they do not need women (mothers) any longer.” For a
sympathetic psychoanalytic reading of Ramakrishna’s assumption of
femininity, see Kakar, “Ramakrishna and the Mystical Experience,” in
The Analyst and the Mystic: Psychoanalytic Reflections on Religion and
Mysticism (New Delhi: Viking, 1991), 1–40.

18. Cited in S. Sarkar, “Kathamrita as Text,” 9.

19. D. S. Sarma, Studies in the Renaissance of Hinduism in the
Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Benares: Benares Hindu University,
1944), 237.

20. I am grateful to Gayatri Spivak for pointing out to me the
numerous, and discontinuous, ways in which the English term woman
translates into Bengali (and/or Sanskrit). Even so, it is interesting
to note how often other forms of femininity threaten for Ramakrishna
to collapse into the figure of the kamini. Hence his warning to one of
his young male disciples to beware of women who claim to be actuated
by maternal feelings towards him.

21. Isherwood, Ramakrishna and His Disciples, 113.

22. I put this term in quotation marks to indicate that is placed
under erasure. One cannot assume that transvestism was inflected in
the same way for a nineteenth-century (straight?) Hindu male as it
might be for, say, a contemporary straight North American male. One
has to concede that his masculinity might have been constituted
differently, and in a different relationship to femininity, than might
be the case for our hypothetical North American male.

23. I am thinking here of N. T. Rama Rao’s assumption of feminine
attire, makeup, and jewelry, on one-half of his body in the days of
his chief ministership of Andhra Pradesh, apparently in a bid to
consolidate his political/spiritual power. Philip Spratt also provides
detailed anthropological evidence of religious transvestic ceremonies
all over India (Hindu Culture and Personality [Bombay: Manaktalas,
1966]). See, too, Kathryn Hansen’s splendid essay, “Making Women
Visible: Female Impersonators and Actresses on the Parsi Stage and in
Silent Cinema” (unpublished manuscript).

24. Ashis Nandy, At the Edge of Psychology: Essays in Politics and
Culture (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1990), 38.

25. Wendy Doniger, Women, Androgynes, and Other Mythical Beasts
(Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1980), 319.

26. Ibid., 331.

27. Women could, on occasion, function as gurus; the Bhairavi
Brahmani, for instance, was Ramakrishna’s first guru. Other historical
and contemporary figures like Andal, Mahadeviakka, Mirabai, and
Anandamoyi Ma come to mind as well. Sharada Devi (Ramakrishna’s wife)
herself had several (female and male) disciples. I do not think,
however, that this militates against my understanding of the guru-
disciple relationship as functioning for the most part for and among
males nor against my reading of its gendered significance in early
nationalism.

28. I am obliged to Sandhya Shetty for pointing this out to me. The
gurudakshina (the gift to the guru) is situated outside (economic)
exchange and functions in a symbolic capacity only. The instance of
Drona the archer and his low-caste disciple Eklavya, who had to
sacrifice his thumb to ensure the superiority of the guru’s favorite
pupil Arjuna, only demonstrates that in the guru-shishya configuration
what is offered by the disciple is incommensurable with what is given
by the guru.

29. Life of Sri Ramakrishna, Compiled from Various Authentic Sources
(Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1964), 296.

30. Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda: The Yogas and Other Works, ed.
Swami Nikhilananda (New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1953),
13.

31. There is no “secular,” critical biography of Ramakrishna except
that by Max Mueller, Ramakrishna: His Life and Sayings (New York:
Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1899). While this inveighs against the
miraculizing tendencies of Ramakrishna’s disciples, not excepting
Vivekananda, and refuses to take Ramakrishna’s avatarhood seriously,
it is nonetheless entirely reverential about the man himself.

32. Life of Sri Ramakrishna, 117.

33. Ibid., 144–45.

34. Ibid., 294.

35. Swami Chetanananda, ed. Ramakrishna as We Saw Him (St. Louis, Mo.:
Vedanta Society of St. Louis, 1990), 110.

36. Sumit Sarkar notes: “Girish Ghosh confessed that seeing
Ramakrishna ‘playing’ with a young disciple made him recall a
‘terrible canard’ that he had once heard about the saint” (“Kathamrita
as Text,” 103).

37. Sister Nivedita [Margaret E. Noble], The Master as I Saw Him
(Calcutta: Udbodhan Office, 1910), 64.

38. Isherwood, Ramakrishna and His Disciples, 204.

39. This is not, of course, to assert that the conflicts were unique
to Naren; as we have seen, in terms of class position and intellectual
training he appears to have been no different from the majority of the
disciples. The others, however, appear to have been less outspoken in
their skepticism than he was. I hardly need add that the memory and
the narrative of these conflicts is overdetermined; if Naren had not
become Vivekananda, we would probably have heard far less of his
interactions with his guru. As it is, in The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
his iconoclasticism is not as evident as that of, say, Bankim or Dr.
Mahendralal Sarkar (neither of whom was a disciple). Nonetheless, he
does seem to have been the unequivocal favorite of Ramakrishna. And it
also seems clear that he was accorded a degree of freedom of speech
and behavior not permitted most of the other disciples. (Girish Ghosh,
who was notorious for his drinking, patronage of prostitutes, and
occasional foul-mouthed invectives against the guru, was one of the
very few others who was granted such a license.)

40. Chatterjee, “Religion of Urban Domesticity.” Sumit Sarkar
emphasizes the saint’s determined pursuit of bhadralok disciples as
well as his reticence about religious practices (of the Baul,
Kartabhaja, and vamachari Tantric varieties) that might have offended
their sensibilities (“The Kathamrita as Text,” 36).

41. Chetanananda, Ramakrishna as We Saw Him, 385–90.

42. My thanks to Inderpal Grewal for suggesting this possibility to
me.

43. Hervey De Witt Griswold, Insights into Modern Hinduism (New York:
Henry Holt, 1934), 58.

44. Nationalism’s dependence on colonialism has been extensively
documented, to some degree by Nandy, Intimate Enemy, but most notably
by Chatterjee, Nationalist Thought. Certainly nationalism-and-
colonialism seems to function as one category for Vivekananda.

45. Not all Brahmos were as skeptical as Shibnath Shastri, who, much
though he admired Ramakrishna, believed that the saint’s austerities
at the beginning of his spiritual career had had deleterious effects
on his mental state; Keshab for one seems to have been less
incredulous of the spiritual nature of the saint’s trances. Sumit
Sarkar points out, interestingly, that while Ramakrishna’s family and
neighbors in Kamarpukur and Dakshineshwar attributed the trances to
madness or “possession,” his bhadralok disciples and admirers
described them as the samadhi state extolled by high Hindu doctrine.

46. Ramakrishna himself made conflicting assertions about his own
avatarhood; at points he dismissed the possibility derisively, while
at other times he claimed to be an avatar of Krishna, Chaitanya, and/
or Kali.

47. Swami Nikhilananda, Vivekananda: A Biography (New York:
Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1953), 42.

48. It is not possible to establish whether any of the swami’s
supporters were simply admirers or actually disciples. It is not
inconceivable that they may have become disciples retroactively,
following Vivekananda’s success in the west.

49. Sankari Prasad Basu and Sunil Bihari Ghosh, eds., Vivekananda in
Indian Newspapers 1893–1902 (Calcutta: Dineshchandra Basu
Bhattacharya, 1969), 9.

50. It should be noted that the swami’s Indian reputation was—to some
degree, at least—induced by himself, as a defensive measure no doubt
against the criticisms he encountered not only from Christian
ministers in the United States but also from members of the Brahmo
Samaj and perhaps the Theosophical Society as well. His early letters
to his disciples in Madras were full of exhortations to them to hold a
meeting in his honor and to proclaim him to the west as a true
spokesperson of Hinduism. He was also careful to keep them informed
about favorable reviews in the U.S. press.

51. Rakhal Chandra Nath, The New Hindu Movement 1886–1911 (Calcutta:
Minerva, 1982), 126.

52. Ibid., 129.

53. Chatterjee, “Religion of Urban Domesticity.”

54. Nath, New Hindu Movement, 115.

55. Vivekananda was rarely consistent in this view; this was typical
of him. At times he deployed the rhetoric of free trade to imply
mutual and equal advantage to east and west; at other times he
insisted that Indians were superior to the west in their indifference
to material things and that in fact the west called out for spiritual
conquest by an “aggressive Hinduism.” In this vacillation Vivekananda
was not untypical of the bourgeois neo-Hindu nationalists of his time.
[BACK]

56. He also enjoined his brother monks in India not to insist on the
acceptance of Ramakrishna’s avatarhood in would-be devotees and
disciples of the new order.

57. Harold W. French, The Swan’s Wide Waters: Ramakrishna and Western
Culture (Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1974), 58.

58. Raychaudhuri, Europe Reconsidered, 230.

59. Chatterjee, “Religion of Urban Domesticity.”

60. Nath, New Hindu Movement, 114.

61. Ibid., 17. Note that Bankim’s novel was undoubtedly the product of
a distinctly westward-looking nationalism. Nath describes Aurobindo’s
“Bhawani Mandir” as derived from Anandmath (and remarkably similar to
Vivekananda’s own cult of the warlike monk) in its emphasis on
manliness and in its devotion to Kali. [BACK]

62. Chatterjee, “Religion of Urban Domesticity,” 61.

63. Vivekananda, Vivekananda: The Yogas and Other Works, 151.

64. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s cult of physical fitness and
martial arts training has a great deal in common with Vivekananda’s
endorsement of “beef, biceps, and Bhagavad-Gita.”

65. Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda, by His Eastern and Western
Admirers (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1964 [1961]), 347.

66. At this point in Indian history, bourgeois and Hindu nationalisms—
the first represented by “moderates” in the Congress Party calling for
secular and constitutional reforms, the latter by Tilak, Bankim, and
others—have assumed the status of two distinct categories, though
quite often they function as one. I bear in mind also Sudipta
Kaviraj’s important caveat against the conflation of distinct
nationalisms (his own concern is with “early” and “mature”
nationalisms), which must be seen as disjunct rather than articulated
phenomena in Indian history; see Sudipta Kaviraj, “The Imaginary
Institution of India,” in Subaltern Studies VII: Writings on South
Asian History and Society, ed. Partha Chatterjee and Gyanendra Pandey
(New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1991).

67. Basu and Ghosh, Vivekananda in Indian Newspapers, 27.

68. Nivedita, The Master as I Saw Him, 231.

69. Ibid., 388 (emphases in the original). [

70. Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda, 252. The speaker in this
instance was a woman, Constance Towne.

71. Marie Louise Burke, Swami Vivekananda in America: New Discoveries
(Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1958), 16.

72. Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda, 14.

73. Swami Vivekananda and His Guru (London and Madras: Christian
Literature Society for India, 1897), iv.

74. There is, to the uninstructed viewer, little if anything of the
disarrangement of limbs or clothing that normally marked the sage’s
experience of samadhi.

75. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “A Literary Representation of the
Subaltern,” in In Other Worlds (London and New York: Routledge, 1987),
264.

76. Nivedita functions here as a type of the western female disciple.

77. Mary Ann Doane, “Dark Continents: Epistemologies of Racial and
Sexual Difference in Psychoanalysis and the Cinema,” in Femmes
Fatales: Feminism, Film Theory, Psychoanalysis (New York and London:
Routledge, 1991), 244.

78. Marie Louise Burke, Swami Vivekananda: His Second Visit to the
West; New Discoveries (Calcutta: Advaita Ashram, 1973).

79. Kakar, Inner World, 160.

80. See, for instance, Romila Thapar: “[The ascetic] is celibate and
yet, at the same time, the most virile of men. The ascetic’s
demonstration of sexual prowess is not a contradiction in terms: it is
in fact a demonstration of his complete control over body functions,
since ideally the emission of semen is prohibited to
him” (“Renunciation: The Making of a Counter-Culture?” in Ancient
Indian Social History: Some Interpretations [Delhi: n.p., 1978], 94).
Also see Joseph Alter: “The whole purpose of brahmacharya [celibacy]
is to build up a resilient store of semen so that the body—in a
holistic, psychosomatic sense—radiates an aura of vitality and
strength” (“Celibacy, Sexuality, and the Transformation of Gender into
Nationalism in North India,” Journal of Asian Studies 53, no. 1
[1994]: 51).

81. Steve Neale, “Masculinity as Spectacle,” in The Sexual Subject: A
Screen Reader in Sexuality (London and New York: Routledge, 1992), 277–
87.

82. Ibid., 286.

83. Swami Vivekananda, “The Future of India,” in Lectures from Colombo
to Almora (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1956), 267.

84. Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda, 196. Sister Christine
(Christine Greenstidel) goes on to remark on the companionship of
Sadananda and Vivekananda on their North Indian pilgrimage: “Both were
artistic, both were poets by nature, both were attractive in
appearance. Artists raved about them.”

Nivedita also confesses, though far more discreetly, that she was
drawn to the swami by his “personality” rather his philosophy, which
she initially found unoriginal. Her “biography” of him, The Master as
I Saw Him, is remarkable for its reticence about his corporeality.

85. That such a construction of femininity was not necessarily
exclusive to Hindu reformers/revivalists is borne out by Faisal
Fatehali Devji: “[Muslim] reformist literature replaces the aggressive
sexual woman with the pathetic or suffering woman-as-mother” (“Gender
and the Politics of Space: The Movement for Women’s Reform in Muslim
India, 1857–1900,” South Asia, 14, no. 1 [1991], 151).

86. Partha Chatterjee, “The Nationalist Resolution of the Women’s
Question,” in Recasting Women: Essays in Indian Colonial History, ed.
Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers
University Press, 1990), 237.

87. Sister Nivedita, The Web of Indian Life (London: William
Heinemann, 1904), 32–45.

88. See, among others, Lata Mani, “Contentious Traditions: The Debate
on Sati in Colonial India,” in The Nature and Context of Minority
Discourse, ed. Abdul JanMohamed and David Lloyd (Oxford and New York:
Oxford University Press, 1990); Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid, eds.,
Recasting Women: Essays in Indian Colonial History (New Brunswick,
N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1990); Chatterjee, Nation and Its
Fragments; and Madhu Kishwar, “Gandhi on Women,” Economic and
Political Weekly, 5 October 1985, 1691–1702.

89. Monier Monier-Williams, Religious Thought and Life in India (New
Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, 1974 [1883]), 184–85. Also
see David R. Kinsley, “Kali: Blood and Death Out of Place,” in Devi:
Goddesses of India, ed. John S. Hawley and Donna M. Wulff (Berkeley
and London: University of California Press, 1996); and Ajit Mookerjee,
Kali: The Feminine Force (New York: Destiny Books, 1988).

90. Sumanta Banerjee, “Marginalization of Women’s Popular Culture in
Nineteenth Century Bengal,” in Recasting Women: Essays in Indian
Colonial History, ed. Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid (New Brunswick,
N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1990), 158.

91. Ramakrishna was married at the age of twenty-three to Sharadamoni
Debi, a child-bride of five. According to custom, she remained in her
natal home, while Ramakrishna continued his spiritual disciplines at
Dakshineshwar, forgetful of her existence. At eighteen she sought him
out at Dakshineshwar and acceded to his request that their marriage
remain unconsummated. Over the remaining decade and a half of
Ramakrishna’s life, she spent extended periods at Dakshineshwar, doing
his housekeeping and cooking and (usually) living in a separate
building in the temple complex. [BACK]

92. Nivedita, The Master as I Saw Him, 65.

93. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “A Literary Representation of the
Subaltern,” in In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics (New York
and London: Routledge, 1987), 244. [BACK]

94. Nivedita, The Master as I Saw Him, 83.

95. Raychaudhuri, Europe Reconsidered, 242.

96. Swami Vivekananda, Letters of Swami Vivekananda (Calcutta: Advaita
Ashrama, 1964), 167–68.

97. Pandita Ramabai Saraswati (1858–1922) was a notable scholar and a
Hindu widow who converted to Christianity during a visit to England
and dedicated her life to the uplift of young Hindu widows. Her book,
The High-Caste Hindu Woman (London: George Bell and Sons, 1888), as
well as her travels in England and the United States, gained her
sympathy from feminists as well as Christian missionaries abroad and
censure from Hindu conservatives at home. Her shelter for widows, the
Sharda Sadan in Pune, was supported in large part by funds raised by
Ramabai Circles in the United States and England. Her travels in the
United States in the 1880s received extensive coverage in the U.S.
press.

98. Basu and Ghosh, Vivekananda in Indian Newspapers, 421–68.

99. This is necessarily a simplification of Vivekananda’s very
complicated responses to the issues of (gender and other) reform,
nationalism, and colonialism. The split was not simply between
“home” (where reform had to endorsed) and abroad (where Hinduism had
to be defended); even at “home” he had decidedly mixed responses to
reform and (religious and social) orthodoxy.

100. The phrase is Nivedita’s (The Master as I Saw Him, 124). In an
interesting departure from the hagiographical tradition in which
accounts of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda are produced (and in which
tradition Nivedita’s own work uneasily belongs), she emphasizes not
the continuity of their respective “gospels” but their distinctness
from each other. She does this, besides, in a fashion that highlights
the swami’s struggles and doubts: “Sri Ramakrishna had been, as the
Swami himself said once of him, ‘like a flower,’ living apart in the
garden of a temple, simple, half-naked, orthodox, the ideal of the old
time in India, suddenly burst into bloom, in a world that had thought
to dismiss its very memory. It was at one the greatness and the
tragedy of my own Master’s life that he was not of this type. His was
the modern mind in its completeness.…His hope could not pass by
unheeded,…the hope of men of the nineteenth century” (The Master as I
Saw Him, 124–25).

101. Chatterjee, “Nationalist Resolution,” 237–38.

102. She was not, however, recognizably a nineteenth-century British
feminist—at least from the evidence of her early writings—even though
much has been made in the biographies of her feminism and other
“excesses.” Apparently Vivekananda himself made fun of her putative
feminism.

103. Quoted in Barbara Foxe, Long Journey Home: A Biography of
Margaret Noble (Nivedita) (London: Rider, 1975), 32–33.

104. Quoted in Vron Ware, Beyond the Pale: White Women, Racism and
History (London and New York: Verso, 1992), 121.

105. Sharada Devi seems to have been a figure who was not
unequivocally reverenced by the followers of Ramakrishna. Many
devotees visited her at Jayrambati and Kamarpukur, and she initiated
several people into discipleship. She was sometimes spoken of as an
avatar—like her husband—and the heiress to his spiritual kingdom. But
she was also often accused of being excessively worldly. Ramakrishna’s
most prominent disciples visited her only rarely; Swami Nikhilananda
says that this was because they hesitated to “[make] a display of
their spiritual fervour.” See his Holy Mother: Being the Life of Sri
Sarada Devi, Wife of Sri Ramakrishna and Helpmate in His Mission
(London: George Allen & Unwin, 1962). Spivak speaks of the way in
which her official biographer, Swami Gambhirananda, staged her as “a
counter-echo to what he perceived as the strong voice of the Western
Narcissus” (“Asked to Talk about Myself…,” Third Text 19 [Summer
1992]: 17). I would argue that this could only happen retrospectively,
and at a later moment from the one that Vivekananda inhabits.

106. See, for instance, Meredith Borthwick, The Changing Role of Women
in Bengal, 1849–1905 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,
1984), esp. chaps. 8 and 9; Ghulam Murshid, Reluctant Debutante:
Response of Bengali Women to Modernization, 1849–1905 (Rajshashi,
Bangladesh: Sahitya Samsad, 1983); and Kumar, History of Doing, esp.
chaps. 2 and 3.

107. The Indian woman was, obviously, recast in the nationalist moment—
as was the Indian man; but recast and fixed, with little room for
negotiation after the recasting had been effected. For an analysis of
a nationalist woman’s struggles with gendered identities in
nationalism, see chapter 5.

108. Romain Rolland, The Life of Vivekananda and the Universal Gospel,
trans. E. F. Malcolm-Smith (Mayavati, India: Advaita Ashrama, 1947),
152, n. 2.

109. Nivedita, The Master as I Saw Him, 136–37.

110. Quoted in Pravrajika Atmaprana, Sister Nivedita of Ramakrishna-
Vivekananda (Calcutta: Sister Nivedita Girls’ School, 1961), 30.

111. Foxe, Long Journey Home, 128.

112. Rakhal Nath maintains that the Ramakrishna Mission was the only
non-political body to come out of the “New Hindu” or Hindu revivalist
movement (Nath, New Hindu Movement). [BACK]

113. Foxe, Long Journey Home, 136.

114. Ibid., 150–51.

115. Barbara N. Ramusack, “Cultural Missionaries, Maternal
Imperialists, Feminist Allies: British Women Activists in India, 1865–
1945,” in Western Women and Imperialism: Complicity and Resistance,
ed. Nupur Chaudhuri and Margaret Strobel (Bloomington and
Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1992), 130.

116. S. B. Mookherjee, “Nivedita and Indian Womanhood,” in Nivedita
Commemoration Volume, ed. Amiya Kumar Majumdar (Calcutta: Dhiraj Basu,
1968), 244.

117. She met Gandhi briefly in Calcutta, in the early years of the
century. Gandhi (who in so many ways would grow to resemble the figure
of Ramakrishna) admired her Hindu partisanship but was unable to agree
with her on nationalist politics. The Congress Party under Gandhi had
a profoundly uneasy relationship with militant nationalist women like
Nivedita and the Rani of Jhansi.

118. Lizelle Reymond’s The Dedicated: A Biography of Nivedita (New
York: John Day, 1953) also helped disseminate this image, though its
factual claims have since been contested. Kumari Jayawardena’s chapter
on Nivedita (“Irish Rebellion and ‘Muscular Hinduism,’” in White
Woman’s Other Burden) describes the contradictory ways in which the
disciple of Vivekananda is remembered.

119. My thanks to Carole-Anne Tyler for sensitizing me to this
possibility. [BACK]

120. Foxe’s biography, Long Journey Home, is particularly derisive in
this regard. What had been admirable “manliness” in Vivekananda was
forwardness in the female disciple. [BACK]

121. Ibid., 205. [BACK]

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March 25, 2010 • 8:00 am
Socio-economic Engineering – an Electoral roadmap for the Center Right

Social Engineering is commonly understood to mean:

efforts to influence popular attitudes and social behaviors on a large
scale, whether by governments or private groups.

Within the Indian political discouse, Social Engineering has been used
to refer to the calculus of caste in electoral politics. More
specifically to the political art of striking the right combination of
caste based entitlements or quotas for electoral succes.

Together with religion based Vote bank politics, caste based Social
Engineering has come to represent conventional political wisdom in
India on which most electoral strategy is formulated.

The common assumption underlying both religion based Vote bank
politics and caste based Social Engineering, is that members will
largely vote with the group in anticipation of group entitlements or
quotas unmindful of individual socio-economic interests.

This assumption has largely held true for the first six decades of
electoral politics in India.

But then the decade gone by has induced a new dynamic into this
calculus of the group. A growing economy has created new avenues and
opportunities where the socio-economic calculus for the Individual is
not necessarily in alignment with the erstwhile politics of the group.
While group entitlements offer the Individual’s family a safety net,
economic aspirations are taking the Individual beyond the comfort zone
of community, village and district.

The cognitive dissonance between

settling for the least common denominator within the group

and

personal advancement by seeking opportunities outside and beyond the
group

may not be a significant factor today, with the false comfort of the
security blanket offered by the Congress Party’s Liberal Left policies
like NREGA, Food Security etc.

But this cognitive dissonance is bound to grow with the passage of
time as the economy rebounds and grows.

It wont be long before this cognitive dissonance reaches a threshold
beyond which it starts to have a bearing on electoral politics.

Unlike Social Engineering, Socio-Economic Engineering is not a well
defined discipline of Political Science.

The Center Right movement in India can give it meaning with a focus on
this latent cognitive dissonance.

Socio Economic engineering could come to mean challenging the
conventional political wisdom on the calculus of vote bank and caste.

to be defined as the act of influencing Individuals to break away from
the group (religious Minority voting block, caste) in making electoral
choices.

Back in December of 2008, Offstumped had dissected the electoral
landscape in Uttar Pradesh from a socio-economic standpoint with the
2002 Census Household Income data as the basis. The key takeaway from
this analysis was the strong correlation between dominant income level
within a district and the dominant political players in that district.
(More details on the analysis below).

This correlation between household income and electoral preferences
gives a basis for the target demographic of Socio-Economic
engineering.

A starting point for the Center Right in electoral politics would be
to identify that Voter with cross-over economic aspirations who can
potentially break away from his or her group.

Socio-Economic engineering by the Center Right would then come to mean
targeting the Individual with cross-over economic aspirations by

#1 creating incentives to break away from the group

#2 emphasizing discincentives in voting with the group.

Summary of Analysis on UP income levels and voting patterns

In this analysis household income was classified into 5 buckets

a) less than 250

b) between 250 and 500

c) between 500 and 1500

d) between 1500 and 2500

e) greater than 2500

While the districts in Uttar Pradesh where classified within six
levels – Level 0 to Level 5

Level 0 – districts where households with income less than 500
outnumber all other income groups

Level 1 – districts where households with income between 500-1500 are
the highest but also have more people with income less than 500 than
those with income greater than 1500 (more poorest of poor than middle
income or rich).

Level 2 – districts where households with income between 500-1500 are
not just the highest but also outnumber the poorest of poor and the
rich by a wide margin. (middle income districts where both the poor
and the relatively well to do are a minority)

Level 3 – districts where households with income between 500-1500 are
the highest but the relatively rich (income greater 1500) outnumber
the poor (income less than 500) consistent with the overall
characteristics of the state

Level 4 – districts where households with income greater than 1500
outnumber households with income between 500-1500

Level 5 – districts where 1500-2500 is the highest income group
overall in the state

At the aggregate state level it was also interesting to note that
Uttar Pradesh not only has the highest number rural households in the
middle income group of 500-1500 with 71 lakhs but more interestingly
the number of households with income greater than 1500 (60 lakhs) far
outnumbers the number of households with income less than 500 (30
lakhs).

An interesting insight from the analysis was the strong correlation
between dominant income level within a District and the nature of
electoral contest in the assembly seats within that the District in
the 2007 assembly elections.

3 Responses

sridhar krishna says:
March 25, 2010 at 8:53 am

A good effort. Just to indicate how big the gulf is – look at the
income levels used. Though you have not indicated the periodicity it
would be safe to assume it is per month.

on the other hand the income of the top percentile (or so) per day
would be more. These are the group that are active on the internet and
talk of “State of Union” address or “health Bill”. Shades of Marie
Antoinette.

Though i dont want to be alarmist like Arundati roy and talk of
revolution the gap is certainly not shrinking but widening. unless
this is addressed as a priority nothing else would work in the long
run

rgds / sridhar

Ladder of Opportunity versus Safety of the Net « Offstumped – Center
Right Indian Politics says:
March 27, 2010 at 6:01 am

[...] Older » [...]

Pub Chick says:
March 27, 2010 at 1:04 pm

“with the false comfort of the security blanket offered by the
Congress Party’s Liberal Left policies like NREGA, Food Security etc.”

So you admit this NREGA gives a sense of comfort — true or false —
that being the case what’s the rationale for your following post
quoting Surjit Bhalla? I am really curious to know. You can’t have it
both ways — you either say it’s a fiscally ruinous scheme which lulls
people into false sense of security or say it’s not working on the
ground in any way at all. One excludes the other.

http://offstumped.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/socio-economic-engineering-electoral-roadmap-for-the-center-right/

March 27, 2010 • 6:00 am

Ladder of Opportunity versus Safety of the Net

Part 2 of series on Socio Economic Engineering – an electoral roadmap
for the Center Right

Eminent economist Dr. Surjit Bhalla writing in the Business Standard
had this to say of the UPA’s flagship program – National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA/NREGS/MNREG)

Despite tall claims, the NREGA programme is just a dud as most other
“in the name of the poor” expenditures – and as much of a dud as
predicted by Rajiv Gandhi

Despite repeated evidence for the last 20 years that “in the name of
the poor programmes” reach everybody but the poor, the well-meaning
socialist but not-so-realist Congress party renamed and expanded
existing food for work programmes under its own Congress brand as
NREGA, and now MREGA. (Ironically, but poetic-justice style, the
latter acronym also means “to die”!). It spends Rs 8,823 crore on the
programme in 2006-07 (and Rs 39,000 crore in 2009-10) and is able to
actually deliver only 14.7 per cent (Rs 1,270 crore) to the targeted
audience?!

Dr. Bhalla is being very charitable in his description of the Congress
Party but his pithy remarks on NREGA highlight the false sense of
security and comfort underlying the Liberal Left policies of the UPA.

Social Engineering of the communal variety receieved a boost this week
with the Supreme Court’s interim order upholding Muslim Reservations
in Andhra. This is just the beginning, more can be expected if this
reaction from Abhishek Singhvi is anything to go by. It is clear that
the Congress Party wants to further its Liberal Left agenda by
expanding group entitlements or quotas on religious grounds.

This brings us back to the fundamental challenge for Socio-economic
Engineering -

how must it capture popular imagination of the aspirational voter to
motivate him or her to cross-over ?

If the core premise behind Social Engineering and Left Liberalism was

to convince the voter to settle for the least common denominator
within his or her group on the pretext of having the security of a
safety net

then the core premise behind Socio-Economic Engineering must be

to motivate the voter that there is no reason to settle for the least
common denominator within the group for even the highest of
aspirations will be within reach by climbing on to the Ladder of
Opportunity

There maybe merit in framing the popular debate between the Liberal
Left policies of the Congress and the policy of prescriptions of the
Center Right as a choice between the Ladder and the Net.

The Net may offer safety but then there is no getting out of the Net
once trapped.

There is nothing progressive about the Net for there is no avenue to
progress.

The Net only weighs you down as it gets burdened with more and more to
support

The metaphorical Ladder on the other hand is

by design progressive with opportunities to rise in each and every
step.

by design inclusive and non-discriminatory for with every step an
individual takes to rise, an opportunity is created for the next to
rise and occupy

Pragmatism and realism would suggest that the Ladder of Opportunity
cannot stand alone without the Safety of the Net, leading one to ask
where lies the distinction between Socio-economic Engineering and
Social Engineering ?

That distinction will have to be made by emphasizing the primacy of
the Ladder over the Net

for if there was no ladder there would be no need to cast a wide net
for safety

It may also be asked how different is the metaphor of “Ladder plus
Net”for Socio-Economic Engineering from the “Growth with Distribution”
model touted by Rahul Gandhi.

More on that in the third and concluding part in this series on Socio-
economic Engineering.

37 Responses

Pub Chick says:
March 27, 2010 at 10:00 am

Surjit Bhalla is a money manager (and not a very good one if his
returns are to be taken into account). Since when did money managers
become eminent economists?

And you or your eminence seem to ignore the basic function of a social
net: to be a net that’s only purpose is to exist, regardless of its
efficiency. Simply because its existence encourages risk and growth in
other aspects of the economy.

cynicalcount says:
March 27, 2010 at 12:06 pm

Pubchick

How did you arrive at the conclusion that Surjit bhalla is a money
manager? Kindly educate us poor folks on how you concluded what bhalla
is?

Pub Chick says:
March 27, 2010 at 12:37 pm

That’s he calls himself. It’s not even my definition. In case you did
not know, he owns and runs an investment firm called Oxus Investments
(www.oxusinvestments.com ). Apart from being a money manager, he
writes for the Business Standard and has a talk show on TV. These
things don’t make anyone an Economist.

Pub Chick says:
March 27, 2010 at 12:54 pm

And by the way, why would you question something as obvious as Surjit
Bhalla’s occupation? I mean he says that every time he writes a column
or makes one of those annoying appearances on TV.

What’s with the overall hostile tone, darling? Don’t you like this
blog author being questioned or do you dislike my dislike for ugly
men?

iHindu007 says:
March 28, 2010 at 5:14 am

“Since when did money managers become eminent economists?”

Since when did pub chicks become political analysts?

Pub Chick says:
March 28, 2010 at 8:00 am

Dearest horny boy, it takes no political analysis to say people who
are not economists by profession and have no eminence to show for that
profession which they don’t claim to practice are not eminent
economists.

iHindu007 says:
March 29, 2010 at 12:30 pm

About NREGA

Sreelatha Menon: Caderisation of rural India
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/sreelatha-menon-caderisationrural-india/00/31/388513/

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has converted many
villagers in India into card-holders, who will get a minimum of 100
days work every year. Since that is not happening so easily, the
strategy devised by civil society leaders is to unite the villagers
into cadres, on the lines of trade unions.

The drive, led by top activists, will create many a local Joan of Arc
who can at a moment’s notice get entire villages to take to the
streets, file petitions in courts and make it difficult for the state
to ignore their concerns.

MUCH MUCH MORE IN THE ARTICLE.

Pub Chick says:
March 29, 2010 at 1:07 pm

Yes yes, can you please stop pasting someone else’s opinion/ source
and actually do your own analysis?

Or tell me why Surjit Bhalla is an eminent economist or how this post
of the blog author squares with his previous post? The author seems to
contradict himself and none of the horny boys seem to notice.

It’s not enough to criticize something darlings, you should at the
very least have the courage to be consistent within that framework —
and not pick two criticisms which contradict each other.

Mala says:
March 29, 2010 at 2:17 pm

@Pubchick – I suppose you have lot of time on your hands as you post
so regularly and frequently. I have a small doubt, if you find every
reader of this blog as ugly and horny, why are you here? I mean doesnt
it make better sense to go to some blog where handsome hunks post
messages and the author of the blog is always consistent? My IQ is
much lower than an eminent personality like you who I am sure will be
remembered as the next Albert Einstein in times to come but will be
obliged if you can reply your purpose of coming to his blog and
calling everyone names. Does calling others ugly make you feel happy
in life?

Pub Chick says:
March 29, 2010 at 2:44 pm

Mala, assume it does make me happy.

Now, will you explain the contradictions of blog author? And explain
why someone is an eminent economist or how the NREGA can’t fail and
succeed at the same time?

BabuJadhav(Jai Shri Ram) says:
March 29, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Surjit S. Bhalla is managing director of Oxus Research and
Investments, a New Delhi-based economic research, asset management,
and emerging-markets advisory firm. He taught at the Delhi School of
Economics and worked at the Rand Corporation, the Brookings
Institution, and at both the research and _treasury departments of the
World Bank. He has also worked at Goldman Sachs (1992-94) and Deutsche
Bank (1994-96). He is author of Imagine There’s No Country: Poverty,
Inequality, and Growth in the Era of Globalization(2002). His research
interests are fiscal policy (flat tax?), economic history (do
institutions cause growth?), and macroeconomic policy (the role of
exchange rates in economic development). He has been a member of
several government of India committees on economic policy, most
recently the committee on capital account convertibility. He is on the
board of India’s largest think tank and is an appointed member of the
National Statistical Commission of India. He is also a regular
contributor to
newspapers and magazines on economics, politics, and cricket.
And Karvy calls him “Dr. Bhalla is a well known and respected
economist” source:http://www.karvy.com/face2face/surjitbhalla.htm
Now Pub Chick, tell us why you think he shouldn’t be considered an
economist ?
———————————————————————————————————————————–
On why NREGA is a failure, because :-
1) It wasting away hard earned money most of which ends up with Babus,
you Google away on this. I think PubChick lives on Babus kala dhan
that is why she supports NREGA scam.
2) And for thousands of crores it is wasting away, It provides only
TEMPORARY jobs for only 100 days, tell me Pub Chick will these people
and their children go into hibernation for the rest of 265 days ?
3) Money and effort is being used for silly things like planting
tress, rather than in construction of lakhs of schools delivering
skill development courses.
4) These people’s life and employment is dependent on continuous
supply of lakhs of cores. Once the money stop, they lose their job and
many would lose their life,
5) It is hampering the growth of Industry which is lot more
sustainable than NREGA(dependent of lakhs of cores of tax money) which
can provide employment to masses by artificially inflating the cost of
labor and making them less competitive than Vietnam China etc.
6) This money is doing NOTHING in terms of skill and entrepreneurial
development which is the need of hour. With their current skill set
the are simply unemployable in anything other than Agriculture which
we cannot reply upon.
So rather than teaching them how to fish, we are giving them fish for
100 days only.
I guess those 100 days are enough to make the poor vote for the same
people, and keep elites like Pub Chick in power.
While rest of 265 days the poor can contemplate killing themselves and
their children, at least our Pub Chick can drown on tequila.
———————————————————————————————————————————-
On Pub Chick’s use of words like “horny” “ugly” :-
These are clearly a sign of Freudian Projection. Which is defined
as :- “is the unconscious act of denial of a person’s own attributes,
thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world,
such as to the weather, the government, a tool, or to other people.
Thus, it involves imagining or projecting that others have those
feelings.”
So IMHO Pub Chick suffers from some inferiority complex related to her
physical appearance, you know feels “ugly” due social isolation
“horny”.
If feel sad and also concerned for her, because I have seen other
people on Internet who had similar trollish behaviour and would create
a cocoon of lies around themselves related to their physical
appearance and would taunt other random people calling them ugly and
whore etc.
She is obviously trying to project “ugliness” “hornyness” to make
herself feel better, to feel like she is not alone and there might be
people uglier and with more fetishes than her. She does that on
Internet because peoples true appearance is hidden and such Freudian
Projection in real life with real people with result into cognitive
dissonance
But sadly, the trolls cannot keep up with lies. Often their true
pictures and videos would leak and reveal their true identity. I
remember a girl who tried to commit suicide when this happened to her.
So Pub Chick, for your own good please consult a good psychiatrist.
And remember you must not give up on life. And also no matter what the
world says, you must remain confident and believe that there is some
good inside you.

What is outside is irrelevant.

And you can always fall back on your pub and drown in tequila to
forget about these sad things, also you can always come here and troll
random people.

Pub Chick says:
March 29, 2010 at 9:43 pm

Karvy calls him an Economist? What’s next? Rediff? Or that RSS thing
called Organizer? He is not an eminent economist because he is not a
professional economist anymore and has no papers of any repute to
claim at any time. He is now a money manager because he calls himself
that.

And whatever makes you think I claim NREGA is a success? I don’t have
the data to claim either way. I had just pointed out this blog’s
author had made contradicting criticism which can’t both be right. One
can’t claim no money is being spent and also claim it’s fiscally
ruinous. That takes no googling even.

Regarding your Freudian analysis, I suspect Wren & Martin may be more
offended than Freud. That’s alright, we shall work on that.

drummasala says:
March 29, 2010 at 10:31 pm

Jadhav Saheb,

This Pubchick has little IQ. She does not know what BP stands for? i.e
Blood Pressure.

She has negative attraction or fetish towards what she thinks are ugly
men. I think she had earlier fallen in love with one ugly man, who
dumped her. Thats why she has some grudge and thinks every man is
ugly. She definitely needs a psychiatrist.

way2go says:
March 29, 2010 at 11:35 pm

Hey People..just chyll…….. PUBCHIC is just drunk so no need to argue.

She should better find out Why Barkha Datt was awarded and what made
her an eminent journalist?

Maybe Barkha can explain her while both can enjoy in the Pub at the
same time.

offstumped says:
March 30, 2010 at 12:38 am

Dear Pub Chick

Dont know who is sponsoring you but thanks for keeping the comments on
this blog alive.

As far as Surjit S Bhalla’s economic credentials go a simple search on
Google Scholar would have settled the issue.

http://scholar.google.co.in/scholar?num=100&hl=en&q=economist%20Surjit%20Bhalla&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=ws

As far as your other comments on NREGA go

Observation #1 NREGA is a disaster by SS Bhalla’s yardstick because it
doesnt deliver on its promise

Observation #2 NREGA gives a false hope of safety

are distinct and unrrelated.

The first is an objective assessment of the scheme against its
promised goals.

The second is a subjective assessment of voter’s attitude towards NREA
from a electoral politics standpoint.

Hope that settles the issue for you.

Keep them coming.

Pub Chick says:
March 30, 2010 at 5:44 am

If you think those two observations are actually unreLated, what can I
say. Except to say I offer to draw a tautology cheat sheet for you.

And thanks for reinforcing the lack of eminence of our Bhalla with
that scholar link. There is not a dingle paper there worth the
mention. If I did miss something, let me know.

Targeting Middle India – Socio-economic Engineering Part 3 «
Offstumped – Center Right Indian Politics says:
March 30, 2010 at 6:27 am

[...] Targeting Middle India – Socio-economic Engineering Part 3 Third
and Concluding part of series on Socio-Economic Engineering (Part 1 &
Part 2) [...]

offstumped says:
March 30, 2010 at 6:56 am

Please enlighten with tautology and on your yardstick on “worthy of
mention”

Pub Chick says:
March 30, 2010 at 7:16 am

Sure, will do that when I get to a computer. But I must say it’s
rather astonishing that you state an obvious tautology with a straight
face and call it unrelated.

Pub Chick says:
March 30, 2010 at 10:31 am

Your observation #1 is dependent on actual disbursement and
utilization of the funds. Bhalla is basically saying NREGA is a
failure because it is not even good enough to use the fund it’s
allotted. He also throws some random Rajiv quotes on efficiency in the
middle of the original column — as I remember reading it in the print
version of his column.

Now your Observation #2 says it gives false hope and safety. In your
original post you even claim this is visible on the ground and even
credit this policy of changing electoral outcomes. For a policy to
actually translate to the hope and safety you claim, however false
they may be, observation #1 has to essentially be false. Since the
disbursement of the funds in some sense is what gives the false hope/
change. It is perfectly reasonable to assume those who do get that
sense are not the kind of people who read the entire legislative
paperwork or the latest story on this by The Economist (the one last
week). And your own post accepts to this reality.

So, unless observation #1 is absolutely false, observation #2 cannot
stand. And vice-versa. Now, please pick one of the above and not both
to criticize the NREGA.

Coming to our man Bhalla, I think the established way of ascertaining
someone’s eminence in a modern academic discipline is to hunt for
their citations and the h-index. On that, Bhalla scores a near 0. So,
it’s fair to say he is not an eminent economist. But I think the
looking into his research productivity and citation is meaningless
when he himself does not call him an economist! Forget an eminent one.
That should be your biggest hint.

Jai71 says:
March 30, 2010 at 11:39 am

Pub Chick,
You are IMO driving a logical argument – but not willing to look
beyond the words used per se. And also trying to be simplistic i feel.

A. NREGA is a failure because it did not meet / is not meeting the
goals it had for itself – low disbursement could be one of the issues

B. But NREGA has affected electoral outcomes – there are two aspects
you should look at:

a. To affect electoral outcomes, it is not necessary for NREGA to
actually be implemented FULLY. Implementation to the tune of the vote
swing should be sufficient (am sure you are aware how close the
electoral race is – and what % of votes the winner actually needs)

b. “Poor villager (NREGA recipient) being happy about NREGA” does NOT
mean NREGA SUCCESS! – Some of NREGA goals may have been met, but then
I hope a give away of this size also has some other goals!!

*** Disclaimer – I have only limited knowledge about NREGA and its
goals…
Cheers!
Jai

Mala says:
March 30, 2010 at 11:47 am

@Pubchick – I dont see the purpose of u logging to this blog except to
show your arguementative powers. Perhaps you have memorized wren and
martin as a child but why exhibit that talent here. Is this a forum to
show your language skills? Also be kind enough to show us some link
where Bhalla calls himself a money manager.

Pub Chick says:
March 30, 2010 at 12:17 pm

Jai,

I think your larger disclaimer must have been about your ignorance of
the electoral sample space and significance parameters of variables. I
am ignorant on those aspects as well. Which is why I took this blog
authors’ assertion at face value for the purpose of this argument.

I have no idea of NREGA and its merits on the ground. My only point is
that this author was being intellectually dishonest by using two
contradictory criticisms.

Mala, I don’t know where you live. But I am sure Business Standard is
available in some form. Please buy a copy on a Sunday and read
Bhalla’s byline. And, why would I shy away from showing my
argumentative powers if I think this blog author is being self-
contradictory?

Jai71 says:
March 30, 2010 at 12:39 pm

Pub Chick,
You are unbelievable – so your ignorance is better than mine… wow!
What logic & argument!!

And as for intellectual dishonesty – please re-read my post.

Bottomline: NREGA affects electoral outcome (positively for Congress)
_IS_NOT_EQUAL_ to NREGA is a failure.

if you still dont get it – pl stop acting like you are some guru of
logical reasoning…

Cheers!
Jai

Pub Chick says:
March 30, 2010 at 12:44 pm

Jai, I am sorry I actually thought you were non-ugly.

Jai71 says:
March 30, 2010 at 12:51 pm

Hey Pub Chick!

I like what you are thinking…

Pub Chick says:
March 30, 2010 at 12:58 pm

Excellent.

Now get back to argumentation and ignore the argument.

cynicalcount says:
March 30, 2010 at 2:02 pm

I remember a year or two ago there was this troll called “Balaji” who
used to act in a fashion similar to this newbie troll “Pubchick”.
Maybe, Balaji has changed his gender. Good thing about them is they
keep the debates going with light/fun postings which are can provide
laughter for sometime atleast.
-Pubchick – Do you have a blog somewhere? I would like to get my daily
laughter quota from there if you dont mind.

BabuJadhav(Jai Shri Ram) says:
March 30, 2010 at 5:23 pm

>Now your Observation #2 says it gives false hope and safety. In your original post you even claim this is visible on the ground and even credit this policy of changing electoral outcomes.

Electoral gains can be cause of many reasons, one must remember that
those who handle the process of elections also handle the process of
disbursement of NREGA’s money.

And one mustn’t underestimate our Babudom’s capability to squeeze out
some honey for Buccha logs, may be PapaPub chick brings a lot of honey
or Daru for our PubChick to drown her depression and self
loathing ??

And whichever party helps to increase under the table and over the
table income, will get Officialdom’s protection

At the same time, some chillad can be thrown to the needy the same way
they are given chicken and daru before voting for our eminent Mannu.

And let us not underestimate ignorance of the masses, who votes simply
on the basis of promises made, especially when those are for Jaat and
Minorities.

>For a policy to actually translate to the hope and safety you claim, however false they may be, observation #1 has to essentially be false. Since the disbursement of the funds in some sense is what gives the false hope/ change. It is perfectly reasonable to assume those who do get that sense are not the kind of people who read the entire legislative paperwork or the latest story on this by The Economist (the one last week). And your own post accepts to this reality.

Can’t help your ignorance or maybe daru that makes you see world in
black ‘n white, But lets work on it (you won’t need daru if only you
world work on your mental illness and physical situation).

The poor can get false sense of hope thanks to promises by Babus-Baba-
Mannu-Amma(s), that if they lose their current job or if agriculture
isn’t enough to drown the hunger that they can fall back on 100 days
of GUARANTEED job.

At the same time, there MANY who managed to get job for only few days
and not 100 and many more didn’t get paid for work. So even those who
are getting work right now, may not get work in future or many not get
paid. So they are also libing on flase sense of hope

And lastly, this schme in not certainly not sustainable and might get
cancelled of amended in future, hence again it gives false sense of
hope to poor.

But at least our Pub Chick is getting her daru, right. ??

Now was it so hard to figure it out on your own ??, of course it was
but we will work on it Pub Chick and make your feel smart and Pretty.

So lets do a mantra because certainly this is too much work for your
sad brain, :-

Repeat following 20 times every 6 hours or when you feel very sad :-

“I am smarty, I am pretty, not horny, not ugly, THE WORLD is HORNY,
THE WORLD IS UGLY, but I am PRETTY”

>So, unless observation #1 is absolutely false, observation #2 cannot stand. And vice-versa. Now, please pick one of the above and not both to criticize the NREGA.

Experience cognitive dissonance ? Just do as your Psychologist told
you to do when this happens, don’t accept the reality and kindly
continue with your self righteous journey through your ass.

>Coming to our man Bhalla, I think the established way of ascertaining someone’s eminence in a modern academic discipline

Since when was Economics was limited to “academic discipline” ?? Sure
there is need to teach and further its development, but this is done
with objective to apply this knowledge.

And Bhalla is involved in its application, his work requires the
knowledge of functioning if economies and how it can be exploited for
better returns.

So your way is simply the daru doing the thinking, it is certainly not
the established way. The established way of ascertaining eminence on
an individual is by the recognition of their knowledge ans skills by
their peers and recognized institution in the said field.

> is to hunt for their citations and the h-index. On that, Bhalla scores a near 0. So, it’s fair to say he is not an eminent economist.

Let me say that this is a big hint for everyone that Pub Chick is a
retard or simply ignorant.

>But I think the looking into his research productivity and citation is meaningless when he himself does not call him an economist! Forget an eminent one.

Did he tell you personally that he is not an economist ?, and what do
you call people who have studied and apply the knowledge of economics
in different feild ?

His firm is involved in “economic research”, yet you are still spewing
our this drivel.

Lets see what his firm which is involved in economic research says
about Bhalla :-

“Dr. Surjit S. Bhalla is the Chairman of Oxus Investments. His profile
provides Oxus with a powerful mix of fund management, and applied
economic and policy research. His experience with premier policy
institutes such as the Rand Corporation, the Brookings Institution and
the World Bank offers useful input in formulating global macro
strategies.

Since 1991, Dr. Bhalla has been directly engaged in financial markets.
Prior to establishing Oxus, he was Director and Chief Global
Strategist, Emerging Markets Deutsche Bank; Vice President and
Proprietary Trader Goldman Sachs; and Chief Investment Officer, World
Bank. He has been a consultant/advisor to Warburg Pincus since 1998.

He is on the board of a major think tank (NCAER), as well as Gargi
College, Delhi University. He has been a member of the Change and
Prosperity program at The Aspen Institute since 2002. He is also a
frequent contributor to media on issues related to government policy
and financial markets. He is also the author of a widely read
fortnightly column in leading financial newspapers.

___Dr. Bhalla holds a PhD in Economics from Princeton University____,
a Masters degree in Public Policy and International Affairs from the
Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University and a Bachelors degree in
Electrical Engineering from Purdue University”.
——————————————————————————————————————————

So he have studied Economics and that do at one of the best
institution in the world, those who can use Google Scholar certainly
won’t be acting like a retard, in his work he applies his knowledge in
Economic research, recognized institution in field of economics like
Delhi School of Economics,Rand Corporation, World Bank,Goldman
Sachs,Deutsche Bank have recognized him and hence he is an EMINENT
ECONOMIST.

Also he have written various papers, studies and books in the same
field.

This is obvious enough for anyone who is endowed with even average
mental faculties, but certainly it is too much stress for a Pub Chik.

>That should be your biggest hint.

It is a hint that our Pub Chick is suffering from some serious disease
preventing her/him the use of more than few brain cells.

I know how you feel Pub Chick, no worries there is more to the world
that Sex and Knowledge and Love. There is Daru.

And yes those Hindu Sri Ram Sena guys who left you high and dry and
ignored you as if you were some kind of stool even when you were
trying hard to lure even a blind to show some love.

They did this because they were Ugly and Horny and into Ugly and Horny
girls.

They couldn’t see the pretty in you.

But the Psecular Zakhir Naik sees the Pretty in you, so what he ues
the faciliy of bown paper bag. He is into Pubchik. Hes loves your.

And yes YOU ARE PRETTY, and you don’t need to devour those sleeiping
pills because there is someone who can see pretty in you.

And then there is always Daru, that you can fall back on.

Just repeat the mantra I taught you.

Pub Chick says:
March 30, 2010 at 7:44 pm

This is awesome. BabuJhadhav, I now nominate you my first project. I
take upon myself the task of making you non-ugly and non-stupid.

6 months.

Ashok says:
March 30, 2010 at 8:05 pm

Pub Chick seems to be paid by Congis to act as their full time
supporter on the web. They may have hired lot of others too. After
controlling TV and news paper media, now they want to control the web
too. Unless these “ugly” creatures are blocked, we cannot have
sensible discussion here.

BabuJadhav(Jai Shri Ram) says:
March 30, 2010 at 8:14 pm

@Pub Chick

Yup that is the attitude you need to survive in this hard environment,
especially with your physical _situation_

And yes the world is ugly and you are pretty,

In fact we need a internalBeauty Contest for Special People to remind
that there exist some internal beauty in people of your kind.

BTW, I can see noticeable difference in your behavior so it seems that
Daru and Zakir Naiks Brown bag therapy is working you.

And are you chaning the “I am Pretty and the rest Ugly” mantra ??

Pub Chick says:
March 30, 2010 at 8:23 pm

Ashok, who is Congis? I really would like to get paid for this though
— that would make for a novel that many many white boys will fawn
over.

drummasala says:
March 30, 2010 at 8:31 pm

Because of pubchik, Offstumped has become very interesting. People
relieves their day to day tensions by reading pubchick’s posts. Keep
them coming.

BabuJadhav(Jai Shri Ram) says:
March 30, 2010 at 8:42 pm

@Pub Chick

You should stop the use of word “ugly” “horny”, remember you need to
do this to feel good about yourself.

And you need to feel good about yourself so that you don’t drastic
description to end your harsh life by cutting your wrist and such.

==========================================

Guys make Pub Chick feel comfortable, by doing this you are doing
social service by helping an emo.

Therefore help make Pub Chick feel pretty, as far as her rest of the
drivel is concerned please ignore it as she is not in proper state of
mind to use more than fe brain cells.

Pub Chick says:
March 30, 2010 at 9:23 pm

Babu boy, here is first lesson. Stop speaking to others assuming
intellect over them. Now this mostly makes you non-ugly.

But it’s easier said than done. Watch me.

drummasala says:
March 30, 2010 at 10:21 pm

Pubchick, do you know any pubs for ugly horny men? I think you might
know lot of those.

http://offstumped.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/ladder-of-opportunity-versus-safety-of-the-net/

March 30, 2010 • 6:27 am

Targeting Middle India – Socio-economic Engineering Part 3

Third and Concluding part of series on Socio-Economic Engineering
(Part 1 & Part 2)

Duetsche Bank Research released a report on February 15th 2010 titled
The Middle Class in India – Issues and Opportunities

Some highlights extracted from this report that are of relevance to
this discussion on Socio-Economic Engineering and targeting Middle
India.

#1 -While there is no official definition of the middle class,
estimates range from 30 million to approximately 300 million people.

#2 Even using the most generous estimates of the group‟s size, the
middle class comprises less than 30 percent of the population

#3 The importance of the middle class lies in the fact that it is the
fastest growing segment of the population

#4 while the total population will increase almost 30% between 2005
and 2025, the middle class population will increase approximately 10
times or almost 1000% during this period

#5 the middle class might see less of a link between their priorities
(the CLSA survey found the number one political priority for the
middle class over the next 12 months was employment) and a new
government vs. the poor (who are typically more concerned with things
such as basic healthcare infrastructure or farm loan waivers that are
more directly linked to the government).

#6 A stronger political drive in the middle class would force or
enable the government to also focus on issues that are of concern to
them.

The report also puts into perspective why the flawed Liberal Left
agenda of the Congress is meeting with electoral success

#1 The Gini coefficient (a measure of inequality where 100 = high
levels of inequality and 0 equals no inequality in an economy) is
rather low for India overall compared to other EMs at less than 35 but
has been increasing since economic liberalisation

#2 although the poverty rate has been reduced, the rich continue to
get richer in comparison

#3 As the middle class remains apathetic towards political
participation as is currently thought, then the trend of focusing on
poorer (often rural) voters to win elections could remain the dominant
political paradigm in India.

The Liberal Left agenda of the Congress has benefited from the twin
factors of Middle Class apathy and Demographic advantage by
simultaneously targeting the poor and the elite rich.

This simultaneous targeting of a Demographic majority by the Congress
can be best appreciated when viewed through the prism of what Rahul
Gandhi calls “Growth with distribution”.

“Growth with distribution” is not just about targeting the poor with
entitlements but it also about keeping the elite rich in power through
this unholy nexus between Crony Capitalism and Politicians.

Pratap Bhanu Mehta writing in the Indian Express today (clicking on
this link may lead to virus infection), alerts us once again to the
Congress’ strategy to consolidate power.

The Congress is widening its target demographic base by giving a new
definition to the Poverty Line to expand Entitlements and is giving a
religious twist to Backwardness to increase Quotas.

But then as Pratap Bhanu Mehta puts it hubris and complacency can
still trip the Congress but it will take bold imagination for an
alternative agenda to succeed.

Where is the Opportunity

As the Duetsche Bank Report says

#1 The growth of the middle class and the economic growth of India are
in a virtuous cycle.

#2 As the middle class grows and continues to increase domestic
demand, the economy will also continue to grow

#4 The growth of the middle class will force more businesses to expand
and also force new business to take root

The opportunity for the Center Right agenda lies in what the Deutsche
Bank Report calls

the key point in ensuring that the link between middle class growth
and economic growth continues to strengthen

And that is in

providing the right education and skills to the middle class and
creating enough opportunities in society to absorb these

Conclusion

Socio Economic Engineering could be the vehicle for the Center Right
movement to target Middle India with a “bold and imaginative” agenda.

A beginning must be made by

Step#1 – Giving a new broad definition to this fast growing
demographic segment called the “Middle Class”

Step#2 – Micro-targeting based on issues that directly relate to
economic priorities of the various sub-segments that make up this
broad Middle Class

Step#3 – Structuring an electoral agenda around the “Ladder of
Opportunites plus Safety Net” paradigm to address those priorities

22 Responses

Umesh says:
March 30, 2010 at 7:34 am

Yossarin,
A moot point. Your views are very well taken. But, the problem is
that, u need to articulate the same in much more simplified fashion.

The Bottomline of ur argument deals with economics. But, this blog
attracts mostly Ideological people.

if you want to attract a different segment , you might need to write
in a much more lucid and simpler language.

Bottomline is, india understands money. You could write this in a
language ur ordinary IT professional or a simple trader in a
stationary shop understands better.

have to say, that ur comments are very incisive.

offstumped says:
March 30, 2010 at 7:38 am

Umeshji – point well taken, all debate is work in progress, will
refine the points over time with contextual examples.

arjun says:
March 30, 2010 at 11:26 am

BJP has to do the following;

1) Hold the base i.e 18% of the vote share.

2) Increase voteshare among SCs STs. Even a gain of 2-3% voteshare
would reduce Congress voteshare by the same amount. This ca be done by
consistently reaching out to SCs/STs and giving them prominent
position in the organisation.

3) Alliances with regional parties in key states to consolidate anti
Congress votes.

Pub Chick says:
March 30, 2010 at 12:42 pm

arjun,

why are you worried about the BJP? Does the BJP worry about you? But
if you ugly or horny, no one will. The answer, my boy, is Unilever. Or
some other company that produces skincare products.

Maybe we should make the global CEO of Unilever India’s Prime Minister
by default. That will solve bad politics and ugly people. Two birds,
one stone.

Though, horniness might remain yet.

cynicalcount says:
March 30, 2010 at 2:05 pm

Pubchick – Why are you worried about Arjun or anyone else being ugly
or horny? Does the ugly or horny people worry about you? The answer my
boy or my girl is a good counsellor. Or some good reputed mental
asylum.

Pub Chick says:
March 30, 2010 at 2:19 pm

Worry not darling, I shall help you too.

cynicalcount says:
March 30, 2010 at 2:34 pm

Unfortunately I would have to decline your offer Pubchick. Kindly
continue your rantings here. Good fun they are.

Pub Chick says:
March 30, 2010 at 2:41 pm

I am the one ranting? Okay!

BabuJadhav(Jai Shri Ram) says:
March 30, 2010 at 6:50 pm

@Pub Chick

You are still carrying around the grudge, that certainly isn’t good
for you.

You know how that affects your diet and BP and in turn your physical
appearance.

This is a vicious cycle that you must come out of.

Repeat after me :-

“Sri Ram sena boys neglected me not because I am ugly even when I was
trying hard to lure them, but because _they_ are ugly and horny and
are into ugly and horny girls”

Say that :-

“I am Pub Chick, and I have inner beauty that my love Pseculars like
Zakir Naik can see”

Also :-

“My Daru loves me and makes me feel good about myself”

——————————————————–

Guys let us sympathize with people with mental illness, lets make her
feel better about herself. Otherwise who knows she might give up and
devour sleeping pills leaving behind one ugly world that continuously
reminded her of her external appearance.

She compensates for lack of love and self confidence with use of
perverted word and indulges in Freudian Projection.

Poor PubChick, I think it is time for your Daru therapy. Remember
world is ugly, but you have inner beauty.

Fanatic_Hiindu says:
March 30, 2010 at 10:45 pm

Awright,
If pubchick responds this will be fun . Incidentally, we Hindu
fanatics are enjoy our drink too along with a spice of Pink floyd.

Too bad the Christmas carols with the Paedophiliac touch does not
enthuse us well enough.

Jingle the bell , Pussy’s[Pun completely unintended] in the well

Where are you, My sweet[pinch of salt] little Pubby queen?

BabuJadhav(Jai Shri Ram) says:
March 31, 2010 at 12:28 am

@Fanatic_Hiindu

She may call you horny and ugly, but trust me bro you attention has
given her a new life.

After the attack by the Boys of Sri Ram Sena, she was heart broken
that every one ignored her as if she didn’t exist.

What you have done is a pure social serivice, might have even saved a
life.

Aapne Punya ka kaam Kiya hai.

I think at least today she don’t need to resort to intoxicant to put
her self to rest.

Sweet dreams, remember at least Fanatic_Hiindu likes you.

And yes chant your mantra.

BabuJadhav(Jai Shri Ram) says:
March 31, 2010 at 12:29 am

[Sweet dreams, remember at least Fanatic_Hiindu likes you.

And yes chant your mantra.]( <<<<<< Meant for dear Pub Chick)

Ketan says:
March 31, 2010 at 2:51 am

My suspicion is that Pub Chick and Babu are the same people, just what
while posting her comments as Babu, Pub Chick is making more typos
than usual to distract others.

Can any eminent impostorologist prove that Pub Chick and Babu are not
the same people?

psecular says:
March 31, 2010 at 4:04 am

Guys IGNORE pube-chic,the gender bender. It has hired someone to write
English paragraphs with some heavy words and is happily inserting
“ugly”, “horny” in between the sentences to show them off as her own.
Its plagiarizing shamelessly. Nevertheless, I observe that pube chics
obsession for Indians (fox & the sour grapes) and its fear of a
stronger India are real

Pub Chick says:
March 31, 2010 at 8:35 am

I am quite insulted that you think I am some random guy who can’t even
type. Plus, I am also flattered you think I plagiarize.

On balance, I guess I am.

Fanatic_Hiindu says:
March 31, 2010 at 10:03 am

ok, if anybody thinks I like pubchick, all I say is that, forget it.
I’ve much better taste.

Secondly, Pubchick thinks that he/she is the ulra-cool lady and us
Hindu extremists dont have a sense of Humour, so, I’m giving him/her a
taste of his/her own medicine.

It is interesting that he/she chose not to respond to me. Shows how
scared he/she is.

Other guys, Dont take it seriously. Let us wait and see if Pubchick
responds. I bet that he/she is too scared to do so, since, he/she met
someone of him/her own size who can beat him/her in him/her own game.

Cheers

Ketan says:
March 31, 2010 at 11:15 am

Oh dear Pub Chick, please don’t feel insulted. And even if you did,
that was not the intent. It was implicit in my previous comment that
those typos were deliberate on your part.

To plagiarize would be to not just copy, but also claim that work to
be originally one’s own?

And why has Babu not yet responded expressing his feeling of shock/
jubilation at finally being recognized for what he is?

Fanatic_Hiindu says:
March 31, 2010 at 12:48 pm

I’m coming around to your view, Ketan. You might be right. Good
deduction. Cheers

BabuJadhav(Jai Shri Ram) says:
March 31, 2010 at 1:11 pm

@Fanatic_Hiindu @Ketan

Biraders, ugly folks like you and me cannot be as beautiful like our
Pub Chick. I doubt if you fully appreciate the beauty of Pub Chick.

May be you need some daru or some paper bag(for pub chick) to see her
Prettiness.

rightnow I am busy and tired of typing from mobile phone. I will be
remind you of contrasting differences in beauty of ugky folks like us
hindus and beautiful people like Osama Zakir Naik and Pub Chick.

Ketan says:
March 31, 2010 at 2:21 pm

Babu,

Now I have become even more convinced that you are Pub Chick
masquerading (hope, I got the spelling right!) as Babu.

The more you try to convince me otherwise, deeper will my suspicion
get.

Fanatic_Hindu,

Just a few days back Babu/Pub Chick and I had reached this conclusion
that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder (at least Pub Chick did
not contest this maxim).

Truth is elective (not a typo). And, Pub Chick is spectacular.

cynicalcount says:
March 31, 2010 at 3:59 pm

@ketan – Please stop trivialising. I didnt expect this from you. Let
us all stop talking about this pubchick and discuss the issues related
to the topic of this post by Offstumped. It is better to laugh at
posts by pubchick rather than giving him/her any importance. Its like
how media gives importance to non-entities and makes them larger than
life. He/She is not worth even talking about and my request to you is
to stop mentioning that nick. Thanks.

BabuJadhav(Jai Shri Ram) says:
March 31, 2010 at 7:28 pm

Bhaiyon Naam Main Kya Rakha Hai, Bhavnao Ko Samjho.

I am certainly not worthy enough to be compared to Pub Chik.

===================================================
Okay now, even I am tired of trolling a troll. And cynicalcount is
right, this tool is not deserving of any more of our attention. Sadly
I must admit my mistake for feeding this POS Pub Shit, I thought I
will keep this character busy but this really affected the process of
dialogue and debate.

Centre-right shouldn’t be trivialized by such nonsensical exchange of
intellectual excrete.

I am sorry.
========================================================

@Pub Shit Hoe, before you work on me kindly work on your own arguments
that were raised by you regarding.(Silence was pretty deafening and
was an expose of your unmatched intellectual vanity) :-

1) Why do you think that Bhalla is not an economist when _Dr._ Bhalla
holds a PhD in Economics from _Princeton_ University.

2) Why do you think he is not an _eminent_ economist, with his
illustrious educational credentials :-

” Dr. Bhalla holds a PhD in Economics from Princeton University____, a
Masters degree in Public Policy and International Affairs from the
Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University and a Bachelors degree in
Electrical Engineering from Purdue University”.”

========Occupational achievement :-=====================

“”Dr. Surjit S. Bhalla is the Chairman of Oxus Investments. His
profile provides Oxus with a powerful mix of fund management, and
applied economic and policy research. His experience with premier
policy institutes such as the Rand Corporation, the Brookings
Institution and the World Bank offers useful input in formulating
global macro strategies.

========His contribution to academia :-==================

“He is on the board of a major think tank (NCAER), as well as Gargi
College, Delhi University. He has been a member of the Change and
Prosperity program at The Aspen Institute since 2002. He is also a
frequent contributor to media on issues related to government policy
and financial markets. He is also the author of a widely read
fortnightly column in leading financial newspapers.”

Other than the numerous and well cited papers and books he have
written, (learn to use Google Scholar and comprehend what comes on the
screen before you. And please don’t blame the poor computer and the
world, because the problem lies between your keyboard and the chair.)

And lastly he is recognized by Media, Economic Institutions,
Educational Institutions and Governmental Insinuations(and that to the
very best / big / global ones at that)

3) Alleged contradictions in post regarding NREGA

Your fallacy have been well contradicted, either prove the refutation
wrong or accept that you are a well established retard deserving of no
attention.

4) By your own measure of ascertaining ones eminence in particular
field, Bhalla is very much eminent. You must agree that this
establishes your lack of intellect.

5) Why IYO is an Economist only limited to academic activities, why
cannot IYO a person be considered eminent for expertise/work/
achievement in the field of application of economics (which you are
too ignorant to know that this field exist and is really the objective
for the knowledge R&D by academia)

6) You said something about his skills and how he is not very good at
what he does, FYI in last 5 years his investments had higher returns
than say HDFC/Reliance Growth/DSPBR/IDFC/Birla Sun life/Fiedelity
Equity/ICICI Prudential/Tata Grown.

Hell returning as good as the index is considered to be a very good
investment (according to Buffet), but ROI on his investment were ~50%
better than index.

Hence in light of the stated facts it is very obvious that your
contribution to this blog is :- SHUNYA, in fact a 10 year old kid can
come up with better observations.

So take my advise, but yourself out of misery as you are trying to
hard to get attention in this world. Any further direct indirect
requests for hand-holding and attention will be ignored.

You can ask for attention from Psecs like Zakir Nalaiks and Osamas of
the world who will join you in the mission of psecular eradication of
ugly and horny non Psecular an non EvanJihadi-Psemitics.

Ram Ram

http://offstumped.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/targeting-middle-india-socio-economic-engineering-part-3/

Posted: Wed, Mar 31 2010. 9:56 PM IST

Bachchan meets the worldThe actor is actually available for all kinds
of things, from interviews with rookie journalists to launching books
to becoming part of public service campaignsSidharth Bhatia

A huge picture on his blog shows Amitabh Bachchan with his mouth open,
in what looks like a roar, with a tiger in the background. This is
Bachchan expressing his support for the Save the Tiger campaign, but
it could be a double metaphor: his anger at his critics and his
proximity to Bal Thackeray, whose party symbol is the roaring tiger.

Such a misinterpretation would confirm Bachchan’s fears that many are
out to malign his good name. Recently, he has been criticized by Raj
Thackeray, the Congress and the media. On Twitter, people are
expressing their distaste for his support to various controversial
politicians and causes. Not surprisingly, Bachchan is feeling hounded
and is now hitting back on his blog.

When he went to attend a function on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in
Mumbai last week, the local Congress objected to Bachchan’s
association with Gujarat as its tourism brand ambassador. How could a
Congress chief minister sit on the same dais with a man who was ready
to help the Bharatiya Janata Party, that too someone like Narendra
Modi? Chief minister Ashok Chavan, always on the lookout for ways to
please his Delhi bosses, tried to distance himself from Bachchan till
it was pointed out that the star had been officially invited.

Local political machinations were behind this so-called controversy.
Chavan is under siege from his coalition partner Nationalist Congress
Party and also from local Congress party bosses. A day or two later, a
recorded speech by Abhishek Bachchan on the occasion of Earth Day was
pulled out hours before Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit landed at
a function.

Bachchan is wondering if there is a “pattern” in all this. It would be
naive to think there isn’t, given the vehemence with which Congress
spokesperson Manish Tiwari went after the actor on television
channels. A bit rich this, considering that Bachchan became a Congress
member of Parliament after the 1984 elections in the wake of the anti-
Sikh riots in Delhi and elsewhere.

Bachchan’s other bête noire is the media which, for him, is
incompetent, arrogant, unprofessional and, most of all, against him
and his family. He regularly takes digs at journalists, sometimes by
name, and is at war with a large newspaper group whose tabloid paper
carried a report about Aishwarya Rai Bachchan being afflicted with an
illness that prevented her from getting pregnant.

So what does all of this make Bachchan? A crotchety old uncle, an
angry ageing man, an arrogant star who can’t stand being criticized?

The irony is that Bachchan is one of the most accessible stars in
Mumbai. His office never fails to reply to a message or a request, and
he is available for all kinds of things, from interviews with rookie
journalists to launching books to becoming part of public service
campaigns. So what gives with this newfound aggression? The truth is
that Bachchan has discovered that he can now access his fans directly.
His blog is popular, and he writes it every night. That has been an
empowering experience and he is encouraged by the response he gets
when he hits back.

But there is also little doubt that he has become touchy at being
questioned about his choice of friends—Amar Singh, Bal Thackeray,
Mulayam Singh Yadav and now Narendra Modi: This is, by any token, not
a guest list any man in public life would like to associate with.

By taking on the media and cohabiting with the likes of Thackeray and
Modi, Bachchan has won no friends. But the pettiness and hypocrisy of
the Congress has gone too far. On his part, Bachchan would do well by
shrugging off adverse comments instead of choosing to react to
everything. He has the right to speak out, but we expect more from our
greatest movie icon.

Sidharth Bhatia is a Mumbai-based senior journalist. Comment at
other...@livemint.com

http://www.livemint.com/2010/03/31215657/Bachchan-meets-the-world.html?h=B

BJP-Sena to roll out big guns for AMC polls
Syed Rizwanullah, TNN, Apr 1, 2010, 05.57am IST

AURANGABAD: The Shiv Sena-BJP combine is all set to rope in national-
level party leaders to campaign for its candidates for the April 11
Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).

The Sena is also planning to introduce Aditya Thackeray, son of the
party's executive president Uddhav Thackeray, in the town by
organising his road show in the run-up to the polls.

Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, Sena deputy leader and MP
Chandrakant Khaire and state BJP unit vice-president Haribhau Bagade
announced the list of big names being brought in to campaign. The BJP
big guns include its national president Nitin Gadkari and senior
leaders Gopinath Munde, Eknath Khadse, Vinod Tawde, Smriti Irani,
Poonam Mahajan and Sudheer Mungantiwar. The Sena list includes Uddhav
Thackeray, his son Aditya, Manohar Joshi, Subhash Desai, Anant Gite,
Anand Adsul and Vishwanath Nerurkar.

Congress candidate Abdul Sajed has already been declared elected
unopposed. Of the remaining 98 wards, the saffron combine is
contesting from 88 wards the Shiv Sena from 55 and the BJP from 33.

The duo has also declared that a strong warning has been issued to
rebels who have filed their nominations from crucial wards to withdraw
within two days and support the official nominees. If they fail to do
so, they will be sacked from the respective parties, the alliance
said.

Some Sena rebels have been using pictures of the party's leaders in
their election material. "We will lodge complaints with the Election
Commission (EC) against such people," Khaire said.

The Sena-BJP leaders have also accused Congress leaders including
guardian minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, industries minister
Rajendra Darda and minister of state for civic supplies Abdul Sattar
of misusing government machinery to influence voters and candidates.
"They have also lured many of our workers by offering them tickets,"
Khaire said.

Specifically naming Abdul Sattar, who had assaulted a Congress
activist following a row over party tickets, Khaire alleged, "He is
threatening many of our workers and also misusing the police machinery
for this purpose. We will approach the EC and draw its attention to
ministers' meddling in the election process."

"The combine is sure to retain its hold on the AMC by bagging at least
55 seats," district Sena unit president Ambadas Danve said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/BJP-Sena-to-roll-out-big-guns-for-AMC-polls/articleshow/5748492.cms

Dismal conviction rate in rape cases in Maharashtra
Umesh Isalkar & Mihir Tanksale, TNN, Mar 31, 2010, 06.06am IST

PUNE: The poor annual rate of conviction in rape cases in Maharashtra
— barely 15-16 per cent as per statistics recently published by the
state criminal investigation department (CID) — has raised the hackles
of human rights activists in the city.

On an average, as many as 1,400 rape cases were registered each year
in the state between 2006 and 2009. While the conviction in these
cases has been pathetic, conviction in related areas like sexual
harassment and molestation is equally dismal even as these offences
are only rising every year, the report says.

Dilip Bhujbal, superintendent of police (law and research) of the CID,
told TOI on Monday that crimes against women in Maharashtra have been
on the rise over the last three years. He said the state government
has initiated measures to ensure more convictions in these cases. “A
comprehensive sensitisation programme for police officers is regularly
conducted at the Centre for Police Research (CPR) in Pune.

Besides, NGOs working against human trafficking and other crimes have
been roped in to train police officials,” he said.

Training in methods of collecting evidence to help victims during
trials, leading to conviction, is imparted during these programmes,
Bhujbal said.

According to the CID report, the state registered 1,500 cases of rape
in 2006, 1,452 in 2007 and 1,558 cases in 2008.

Human rights activists in the city have expressed serious concern over
the situation. According to an analysis done by Asim Sarode, who is
working on criminal justice reforms, the percentage of conviction in
all rape cases was 16.21 in 2006, 16.69 in 2007 and 15.25 in 2008.

On the reasons for the low conviction rate, Sarode said, “Sexual abuse
that does not amount to penile penetration should be included as a
crime. Rape victims must be given interim compensation when there is
prima facie evidence and final compensation after conviction.”

According to Sarode, only 8.43%, 5.95% and 7.37% cases of rape,
molestation and sexual harassment respectively were tried in 2008.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Dismal-conviction-rate-in-rape-cases-in-Maharashtra/articleshow/5745236.cms

Private schools to face penalty for violating RTE: SIbal
PTI, Apr 1, 2010, 02.40pm IST

NEW DELHI: All private and minority schools have to reserve 25 percent
seats in elementary education for underprivileged children, and any
breach of the Right to Education act will fetch punishment, human
resource development minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday.

Sibal told Times Now television that it was obligatory to set aside a
quarter of all seats for poor children from classes 1 to 8 but added
that the reservation would start in Class 1 only from 2011.

It would take eight years by the time the reservation extends to Class
8, he pointed out.

Asked if there will be penalty for not complying with the legislation,
the minister said: "It is now law, it can be statutorily enforced."

He said both aided and non-aided schools across the country have to
follow the legislation.

Sibal warned that schools will not be allowed to segregate students
from the disadvantage community in any form. "That is not acceptable
to us," he said.

The minister clarified that minority schools were not exempt from the
act.

"We believe every minority institution would itself like to (go for
the reservation). There are disadvantaged sections in minority
communities too. The minorities will be part of the national
endeavour."

The government, he said, was "committed to root out the capitation
fee" from the education system. "I will not spare anybody who indulges
in this educational malpractice."

The minister said the legislation would succeed only if all the
stakeholders join hands. "(Educating the child) is a community effort.
We are not doing this ourselves. We are doing this for the unborn
child".

The Right to Education act came into force on Thursday as a
fundamental right.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Private-schools-to-face-penalty-for-violating-RTE-SIbal/articleshow/5750724.cms

From today, every child has a right to education
PTI, Apr 1, 2010, 09.48am IST

Children of India are our future: Manmohan SinghNEW DELHI: Nearly
eight years after the Constitution was amended to make education a
fundamental right, the government today implemented a historic law to
provide free and compulsory education to all children in age group of
6-14 years.

The 86th Constitutional amendment making education a fundamental right
was passed by Parliament in 2002. The Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act, a law to enable the implementation of the
fundamental right, was passed by Parliament last year. Both the
Constitutional amendment and the new law came into force from today.

The new law makes it obligatory on part of the state governments and
local bodies to ensure that every child gets education in a school in
the neighbourhood.

Its implementation will directly benefit close to one crore children
who do not go to schools at present. These children, who have either
dropped out from schools or have never been to any educational
institution, will be enrolled in schools.

The Right To Education is being touted by the UPA government as
another major achievement after Right To Information Act and National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

At present, there are nearly 22 crore children in the relevant age
group. However, 4.6 per cent of these children (nearly 92 lakh) are
out of school, a ministry official said.

The school management committee or the local authority will identify
the drop-outs or out of school children above six years of age and
admit them in classes appropriate to their age after giving special
training.

The Act makes it a right of every child to get education. The Act
makes it obligatory for the appropriate governments to ensure that
every child gets free elementary education.

The Act mandates that even private educational institutions have to
reserve 25 per cent seats for children from weaker sections.

Certain schools have already challenged the law in the Supreme Court
as being "unconstitutional" and violating fundamental rights of
unaided private educational institutions. However, HRD Minister Kapil
Sibal has said that legal process would not affect the implementation
of law.

The Finance Commission has provided Rs 25,000 crore to the states for
implementation of the Act.

As per the government's estimate, there will be a requirement of Rs
1.71 lakh crore in the next five years for implementation of the Act.
Sibal said that the government has arranged the required funds for
implementing the law.

The Act says no school can deny admission to a student and all schools
need to have trained teachers. In case of schools not having trained
teachers, they will have to comply with the provision within three
years.

As per the new law, the schools need to have certain minimum
facilities like adequate teachers, playground and infrastructure. The
government will evolve some mechanism to help marginalised schools
comply with the provisions of the Act.

The government has already prepared model rules which have been
circulated to the states for preparing their own rules for
implementation of the Act. The Centre has also prepared separate rules
for the Union Territories which will be notified by the Law Ministry
next week.

As per the Model rules, the local bodies and the state governments
will undertake household surveys and neighbourhood school mapping to
ensure that all children are sent to school.

The rules say that the state governments or local authorities will
determine the neighbourhood schools by undertaking school mapping.
Such agencies shall ensure that no child is subjected to caste, class,
religious or gender abuse in the school.

The local authority will conduct a household survey and maintain a
record of all children in its jurisdiction. The record will contain
detailed information about the child and the parents and will specify
whether the child belongs to the weaker section or disadvantaged group
or having any disability.

The state government or local authorities will identify children with
disabilities and children from disadvantaged groups every year.

Unaided and private schools shall ensure that children from weaker
sections and disadvantaged groups shall not be segregated from the
other children in the classrooms nor shall their classes be held at
places and timings different from the classes held for the other
children.

The new law will ensure that quality education is provided to children
of all community, including minorities and backward classes.

However, the reservation for weaker section will not be implemented
from this year as the admission season is almost over. It will be
implemented from 2011-12.

The state government and local authorities will establish primary
schools within walking distance of one km of the neighbourhood. In
case of children for Class VI to VIII, the school should be within a
walking distance of three km of the neighbourhood.

The government has prepared a short film on the new law which would be
aired on TV channels to create awareness.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/From-today-every-child-has-a-right-to-education/articleshow/5749632.cms

I am what I am today because of education: PM
PTI, Apr 1, 2010, 09.55am IST

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the government was
committed to ensuring that all children irrespective of gender and
social category have access to education and fund constraints would
not be allowed to hamper implementation of the Right to Education
Act.

Addressing the nation as the Right to Education Act went into force on
Thursday, he said "the government is committed to ensuring that all
children irrespective of gender and social category, have access to
education."

"Our government, in partnership with state governments, will ensure
that financial constraints do not hamper the implementation of the
Right to Education Act" he said.

Adding a personal touch to the importance of education, the Prime
Minister recalled his own childhood days as someone born in a family
of modest means who had to walk a long distance to go to school. "I
read under the dim light of a kerosene lamp. I am what I am today
because of education," he said.

"I want every Indian child, girl and boy, to be so touched by the
light of education. I want every Indian to dream of a better future
and live that dream", Singh said.

Recalling the desire of Gopal Krishna Gokhale about 100 years ago when
he had urged the Imperial Assembly to confer on the Indian people the
Right to Education, Singh said about 90 years later the Constitution
was amended to enshrine the Right to Education as a fundamental
right.

"Today, our government comes before you to redeem the pledge of giving
all our children the right to elementary education," Singh said adding
"this demonstrates our national commitment to the education of our
children and to the future of India ".

Pointing out that India is a country of young people, he said "it is
the belief of our government that if we nurture our children and young
people with the right education, India's future as a strong and
prosperous country is secure."

Singh said the government at the Centre, in states and union
territories and authorities at district and village levels must work
together as part of a common national endeavour to realise the Right
to Education and asked the states to join in this national effort with
"full resolve and determination".

Noting that success of any educational endeavour was based on the
ability and motivation of teachers and the implementation of the Right
to Education is no exception, he asked the teachers across the country
to become partners in this effort.

At the same time, Singh said it was also incumbent upon all to work
together to improve the working conditions of teachers and enable them
to teach with dignity, giving full expression to their talent and
creativity.

Parents and guardians too have a critical role to play having been
assigned school management responsibilities under the Act, he said
adding "the needs of every disadvantaged section of our society,
particularly girls, Dalits, adivasis and minorities must be of
particular focus as we implement this Act."

QnA: Will the bill help eradicate illiteracy in the decades

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/I-am-what-I-am-today-because-of-education-PM/articleshow/5749640.cms

Right to Education: HRD frames model rules for states
Akshaya Mukul, TNN, Jan 21, 2010, 02.57am IST

NEW DELHI: In a significant step towards notification of the Right to
Education Act, HRD ministry has finalised the model rules for states
for implementation of the new law.

The model rules finally define the concept of neighbourhood schools
and make it clear that there will no discrimination against the 25%
children from weaker and disadvantaged groups who will get
reservation.

Also, the minimum qualification for teachers can be relaxed only by
the Centre and the period should not exceed three years. The
relaxation has to take place within five years of the commencement of
the Act. Each state will have to set up a state commission for the
protection of child rights and in the interim period they can have a
Right to Education Protection Authority. A State Advisory Council will
be the highest body to oversee RTE's implementation.

There has been considerable confusion about what neighbourhood schools
mean. As per the model rules finalised now, a neighbourhood school for
class I to V means an institution that exists within one kilometre.
For class VI to VIII, neighbourhood schools will be within three
kilometres. The rules also ask the states to upgrade the existing
class I-V schools to include classes VI-VIII.

The model rules also make it clear that in case there is no school
within the prescribed distance, the state government will make
arrangement for free transportation and residential facilities. States
have been asked to carry out a detailed school mapping for
establishing neighbourhood schools.

While reiterating that no discrimination on the basis of caste, class,
religion or gender be carried out by the states, especially against
the 25% reserved children, the model rules say that reimbursement to
be paid to schools for reserved students should only consist of
expenditure on students.

The model rules also state that the period of admission can be
extended six months from the date of commencement of the academic
year. Only schools run by a society, not-for-profit trusts and open to
government inspection can be given recognition. The schools should not
be used for commercial or residential purpose except for employees.

The important school management committee in all government-aided
schools should be reconstituted every two years. Seventy-five per cent
of the members consist of parents. Of the remaining 25%, one-third
will be elected members of local authorities, one-third teachers and
one-third local educationists. The committee will see the annual
accounts of expenditure and also bring to light deviation from the
right of the child, mental, physical harassment of children, denial of
admission and timely reimbursements to the children.

The rules also say that a three-year School Development Plan will be
chalked out about classwise enrolment, requirment of teachers and
physical requirement of infrastructure as well as additional financial
requirement.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Right-to-Education-HRD-frames-model-rules-for-states/articleshow/5481908.cms

Why has Amitabh become persona non-grata?
Nikhat Kazmi, 29 March 2010, 09:54 PM IST

And I wonder. Am I hallucinating, or is there a pattern in all
this!!!?? This is the pertinent query that a much agitated Mr Amitabh
Bachchan poses in his blog on day 705. The cause for his agitation?
Sundry. The brand ambassadorship of Gujarat as a tourist destination
followed by a photo-op and handshake with Narendra Modi, the
salutation to Bal Thackeray in the midst of the MNS-MNIK face-off, the
The Worli Sea link controversy with the Congress, the Earth hour
blackout of Abhishek Bachchan….Yes, Amitabh Bachchan ko gussa phir
aata hai!

So why has the famous angry young man on celluloid during the golden
1970s turned into the angry old man, in real life, in 2010? That's
because the erstwhile superstar suddenly sees himself becoming persona
non-grata in certain circles which not only pertain to the political
sphere? Before Mr Bachchan decodes the `pattern' in this social
distancing and sudden alienation, he must answer the paramount
question: Is there a connection between art and politics or is an
artist above politics and political divides?

Ideal situation? Let's visualize a scenario where today, the actor
anchors a short film that sings paeans to Narendra Modi and his
contributions to Gujarat, blanking out the events of 2002. Tomorrow,
he hobnobs with Bal Thackeray and wins the title of a `true
Hindustani' from him, irrespective of the divisive politics of the MNS
and Thackeray's relentless politically insensitive rhetoric. Then, he
gets co-opted by the BJP who wants to promote him as the brand
ambassador for the Commonwealth Games. Later, he sashays with the Left
Parties as the mascot for Kerala tourism and shares the platform with
Bhai Amar Singh as he floats his new party or joins back the SP. And
finally, someday, he recites Nehru's tryst-with-destiny speech in his
famous baritone for a promotional film on the Congress centenary on
the behest of Sonia Gandhi. Maybe, someday, he'd even be a guest of
Shibu Soren who wants him to put the state of Jharkand center-stage on
the map of India or Mayawati, who wants him to garland her statute
with a garland of currency.

In our hypothetical ideal state, nobody would have a problem with
Bachchan's changing loyalties, because hey, he's representing himself
as a public personae rather than a political person who kowtows a
particular political ideology. He's representing himself as an artist
who spawns across four decades of Indian cinema with an iconic
filmography that stretches from Vijay Verma (the hero of most of his
blockbusters in the 1970s) to Auro, the 13-year-old hero of Paa. Does
anybody care what his personal political ideology is all about?

Sadly, life, art and society aren't about ideal states at all. They
never have been. Israel still follows an unofficial ban on the music
maestro Richard Wagner because he was supposedly an inspiration for
Adolf Hitler. This despite the fact that Hitler was born six years
after Wagner died. But, for many Israelis, the images conjured up by
Tristen and Isolde, Parcifal and other Wagner compositions are not of
operas alone. Instead, they are reminiscent of the Nazi leader's
progrom against the Jews. In a seminal article on Wagner's influence
on Hitler, the New Yorker asks the million dollar question: "Should an
artist be punished because he happened to fascinate a lunatic who was
born six years after he dies?" Rationally, no. Emotionally, maybe.

So, here's a lesson for Amitabh Bachchan. Before people begin to doubt
his ideological leanings with his `I-just-accept-invitations' rhetoric
and his fan following begins to diminish, he needs to enunciate his
politics. What are you, Mr Bachchan? Right-wing, centrist,
communalist, regionalist or are you liberal, secular, progressive?
Honestly, some of your hobnobbing does seem to have created dismay
amongst those who admire your art. And much as we'd like to believe
your `I'm just an actor' tirade, the lines have begun to blur.

Give us back our Vijay of yore: 'messiah of the underdog'. And we
promise to give you back our unquestioning respect.

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/pulpfriction/entry/why-has-amitabh-become-persona

Atheism is the best worshipJug Suraiya, 29 March 2010, 10:50 AM IST

In the British comedy Bedazzled there is a scene where the Devil,
played by Peter Cook, comes to earth and meets Dudley Moore, your
average man-on-the-street. Moore asks the Devil, “Why did you revolt
against God.”

“Come, I’ll show you,” says the Devil. He perches himself atop a
pillar box and tells Moore to kneel at its base. “Now, start
grovelling and praising me,” says the Devil.

Moore starts grovelling and singing the Devil’s praises. When he shows
signs of flagging the Devil goads him into grovelling more
obsequiously, praising him even more loudly.

After a while Moore says: “Hey, this is getting boring. Can’t we
change places for a while.”

“Exactly,” says the Devil. “That answers your question as to why I
walked out on God: worshipping Him is boring.”

God-worship is not just boring; it is the ultimate in trivialisation.
It infinitely trivialises the boundlessness of the cosmos that lies,
seamlessly, both outside and within us. God-worship reduces the
Creator – the First Principle, the Big Bang, the Singularity, whatever
you want to call whatever it is that started it all – to a Lalaji who
likes to surround himself with sycophantic yes-men, forever extolling
his virtues. Is the Force that created everything, from the gossamer
glow of the endless galaxies to the rainbow sheen of the dragonfly’s
wings, no more than that, a petty bossman who thrives on the most
undiluted flattery? God help us, and the universe, if he is.

And what does God-worship make of us, the devotees? In public, we say
that when we pray, when we petition God for a boon, it is for all
humankind, for all creation. We say we pray for world peace, for a
cure for cancer, for a solution to global warming and climate change.
And perhaps we do.

In the privacy of our innermost desires, however, our prayers are
almost invariably personal: Oh, God, help me to pass my exam, get a
good job, find someone suitable to marry, get my green card, win the
lottery of life.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in wishing for any or all of these
things. Indeed, they’re all good things which any sensible person
would wish for. But why make it God’s job to get you what you want?
Why give up your responsibility to make of your life what you can and
what you will?

A French sociologist has likened personal prayer and the giving of
votive offerings to bribery. He has noted that in countries where the
tradition of personalised God-worship is most entrenched –as in India,
and in Roman Catholic Italy – the incidence of bribery in everyday
life is also proportionately high. If God himself is a Babu who can be
bribed to do your bidding with a prayer and a few diyas or candles,
where’s the harm in slipping some currency notes to a bureaucrat or
politician or policeman to do what you want done? Doesn’t God himself
teach us to bribe? In which case, how can bribery and corruption be
bad things, if they’re God-given?

The atheist not only lives according to a higher code of ethics than
that sanctioned by a bribable God, but also inhabits a higher plane of
spirituality. This is far from being a paradox. God-worship, in which
typically the devotee seeks to get personal desires granted,
inevitably reinforces and entrenches the sense of self, of one’s
individual ego which is special and separate from all other created
beings and forms. God-worship is really self-worship, a deification
of one’s ego, and as such the hardest obstacle to overcome in the
journey of spiritual liberation.

The atheist realises that God did not create humankind in his image;
humankind created God in its own image: selfish, gullible and by
nature susceptible to flattery and bribes. Rather than pay lip service
to such a God, the atheist chooses to disown God and God-worship. And
in doing so, the atheist takes the first step on the path to freedom
from the silken bonds of maya.

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi/entry/atheism-is-the-best-worship

BJP demands judicial probe in Hyderabad communal clashes

2010-03-31 22:30:00
Last Updated: 2010-04-01 04:08:59

Hyderabad: BJP on Wednesday demanded that the Andhra Pradesh
government order a judicial inquiry into the communal clashes in the
city.

"We should know the truth about the clashes in the old city. BJP
demands a judicial probe into the incident to bring out the truth. We
feel the investigation should be conducted by a sitting judge of the
High Court," State BJP president and MLA G Kishan Reddy told reporters
here.

Shoot-at-sight orders issued in Hyderabad as riots spread

He recalled that some Congress leaders had suspected that the clashes
could be an attempt to create trouble for Chief Minister K Rosaiah.

Asked about reports in a section of media that a minister from a
neighbouring state could be behind the incident, Reddy said a judicial
inquiry should bring out the truth.

He demanded that the government control the communal clashes with an
iron hand.

On the reported allegation of Congress MP L Rajagopal that the BJP
could be behind the communal incidents to safeguard its existence,
Reddy asserted that his party did not require any certificate from
someone like Rajagopal.

Hyderabad peaceful, curfew to be relaxed on Thursday

Sharply attacking the city-based Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), he
said the party violated laws freely several times in the past few
years.

"MIM leaders openly abused and attacked Taslima Nasreen. They also
attacked government officials and were also involved in several other
such incidents. No concrete action has been taken against them," Reddy
said.

http://sify.com/news/bjp-demands-judicial-probe-in-hyderabad-communal-clashes-news-national-kd5w4ecacfb.html

Shoot-at-sight orders issued in Hyderabad as riots spread

Hyderabad: Communal riots spread to new areas in Hyderabad on Tuesday
even as shoot-at-sight orders were issued in the old city and curfew
was imposed in the areas under eight more police stations.
While curfew continued the old city without any relaxation, it was
imposed in new areas following fresh clashes. Hyderabad police
Commissioner A.K. Khan said on Tuesday evening that indefinite curfew
would be in force in Afzalgunz, Begumbazar, Shahinathgunz,
Tappachaputra, Asifnagar, Mangalhat, Kulsumpura and Habibnagar police
stations.

Fresh violence in Hyderabad; 8 hurt

Image: Security personnel patrol a street in curfew bound old city of
Hyderabad on March 30, 2010.

Text: IANS

Images: PTI

http://sify.com/news/Shoot-at-sight-orders-issued-in-Hyderabad-as-riots-spread-imagegallery-National-kd4xKghddhf.html

Shoot-at-sight orders issued in Hyderabad as riots spread

He also imposed prohibitory orders banning processions and rallies
across this Andhra Pradesh capital after clashes in new areas.

The indefinite curfew in the riot-hit old city of Hyderabad continued
on Tuesday without relaxation. All 17 police stations under the south
zone were brought under curfew on Monday night to control the
situation.

The communal violence, which was so far confined to the old city,
spread to other areas in the city, triggering tension. Groups
belonging to two different communities clashed in Musheerabad,
Bholakpur and Rani Gunj and other areas in central Hyderabad and its
twin city Secunderabad.

Curfew continues in tense Hyderabad

Image: Security personnel at the gate of Charminar while enforcing
curfew in the old city of Hyderabad on March 30, 2010

http://sify.com/news/Shoot-at-sight-orders-issued-in-Hyderabad-as-riots-spread-imagegallery-National-kd4xKghddhf.html

IANS

Hyderabad peaceful, curfew to be relaxed on Thursday

2010-03-31 22:50:00
Last Updated: 2010-04-01 04:11:21

Hyderabad: The situation in riot-hit parts of Hyderabad remained
peaceful on Wednesday and the police decided to relax curfew for two
hours on Thursday in some areas.

No untoward incident was reported from any of the curfew-bound or
other areas of the city since Wednesday night.

Shoot-at-sight orders issued in Hyderabad as riots spread

Police Commissioner A.K. Khan told reporters that curfew would be
relaxed for two hours in 17 police stations of the old city where
curfew was imposed Monday night following communal clashes.

'Only women and men over the age of 50 will be allowed to come out
during the relaxation,' said Khan.

However, there will be no relaxation in eight police station areas
where the curfew was clamped Tuesday night.

Stating that there would be no relaxation in any area on Friday, the
police chief appealed to people in the old city to buy essential
commodities for two days.

Stray incidents of violence were reported from some curfew-bound areas
adjoining the worst-hit old city but police and paramilitary forces
acted swiftly to bring the situation under control.

Khan appealed to people not to believe rumours being spread through
SMSes and warned that strong action would be taken against those
involved in circulating such SMSes.

The commissioner said those who created trouble during the Hanuman
Jayanti procession Wednesday were being identified through video
footage and they would be arrested soon.

BJP demands judicial probe in Hyderabad communal clashes

'The police have so far booked 67 cases and arrested 136 persons in
connection with various incidents of violence,' Khan said.

There was an eerie silence in the centuries-old markets around the
historic Charminar, which teem with thousands of shoppers and tourists
on any normal day. Only the sirens of police vehicles sporadically
broke the uneasy calm in the area, famous for pearls, jewellery,
bangles, bridal wear, garments and eateries.

Charminar, Mecca Masjid, Chowmahalla Palace and other monuments in the
old city wore a deserted look. Salar Jung Museum, which houses the
world's largest collection of artefacts by one man, was also shut.

On the other side of Musi River, Begumbazar, a major commercial hub
for wholesale grain markets and consumer goods, was also deserted.

Sporadic incidents of violence continued till late Tuesday even after
police brought eight more police station areas under curfew following
clashes in new city localities while police top brass issued shoot-at-
sight orders to policemen in the old city.

The communal clashes since Saturday has claimed two lives and left
over 150 people injured.

http://sify.com/news/hyderabad-peaceful-curfew-to-be-relaxed-on-thursday-news-national-kd5wOcaffji.html?tag=topnews

March 28, 2010 • 9:56 am
Day after Narendra Modi’s SIT deposition

Narendra Modi’s marathon 9 hour deposition before the Supreme Court
appointed Special Investigation Team, SIT is unprecedented.

Whether you are a diehard Modi advocate or a self-proclaimed
conscientious Modi detractor, the highly anticipated deposition has
set a new benchmark by which many an elected leader shall be judged in
the years to come.

The Congress Party justifiably can be expected score political points,
but it would be missing the deeper implications to its favored
dynasty’s much blotted record when in elected office, some of which
has never been put to Trial nor been subjected to reparations.

The politics apart, the day after the SIT deposition has revealed many
an aspect of what this non-trial has come to be.

A non-trial because no charges have been filed, not even a criminal
case has been made out, yet much of the public debate proceeds on the
presumption of guilt, principles of Justice be damned.

First is this online petition by Ehsan Jaffrey’s children which has
now started to make headlines – calling on the Chief Justice of Indian
Supreme Court not to a share a dias with Narendra Modi at an official
State function in honor of the visting Chief Justice of Zimbabwe.

No amount of empathy or sympathy can erase the loss suffered by Ehsan
Jaffrey’s family. Their ordeal demands justice and no civil society or
modern democracy should settle for anything less.

But this petition is not about Justice, it is about something much
else.

If this petition was about Justice it would not be prejudging the
outcome of a yet to be conceived Judicial process against Narendra
Modi.

The Jaffrey’s may have deep personal animosity towards Mr. Modi, they
may also have low confidence in the overall delivery of Justice for
2002 riot victims. But to conflate those sentiments and emotions and
to make demands on what those holding Constitutional Offices must do
and not do reflects a motivated campaign blinded by vengeance and
retribution.

This is by no means a pursuit for Justice.

Back in 2007, Offstumped had observed that on Narendra Modi the
politcal maxim had become – “Why beat him when you can bait him” ?

The same must be said of this campaign for retribution – “Why try him
when you can trip him” ?

A glimpse of this campaign can also be seen in this supposedly news
analysis piece by Manoj Mitta in the Times Of India taking his cue
from highly discredited Teesta Setalvaad to suggest that the SIT
itself lacks credibility.

In closing it must be said that Salil Tripathi’s piece gave hope that
there can be a basis for reconciliation and closure, but this game of
baiting and tripping far from bringing justice and closure will only
widen the chasm.

15 Responses

sridhar krishna says:
March 28, 2010 at 11:01 am

The online petition is poorly drafted with many bloomers.

1. “Not long ago, the Supreme Court of India had called the Chief
Minister Narendra Modi a modern day ‘Hero’.” should have been Nero.

2. “An association of the chief justices of India and Zimbabwe with a
person who is being examined for his role in killing of innocent
people, under the directives of the Supreme Court will send out wrong
signals and undermine the process of justice in Gujarat.”

killing of innocent people, under the directives of supreme court –
sends a wrong message. It should have been examined under the
directives of the supreme court for his role in killing of innocent
people.

It is not just about mistakes in English. When the Gujarat High Court
reprimanded Teesta Setalvad in the best bakery case she went to
Supreme Court to remove the obnoxious comments. The Supreme Court
quoted Justice Gajendragadkar while striking down the words and ruled
that the Judges should not make comments. This Judgement would
squarely apply to the wrongly quoted “Nero/Hero” comment.

It is unfortunate that in this country

1) a ruling prime minister had lost her election related case and
found her rule illegitimate but went on to declare emergency.

2) she again sought to impose an election (Assam) when nobody wanted
and this resulted in a gory murder of 3,000 muslims in Nellie.

3) another dynasty rigged elections in an already troubled state and
we are still feeling the ramifications.

4) another prime minister (in waiting) pointed to a random flight
during an election campaign and said that is the flight in which the
sitting PM was running away with the loot.

5) there were scores of politicians who were indicted in the Jain
diaries.

6) a minister’s house was raided and the toilet was overflowing with –
of all things – money.

7) lakhubhai pathak’s case – Shri PVN

PVN’s acse of buying Sibhu Soren.

the lsit is endless. the president’s chair and the CEC is also not
beyond the specter of such accusations.

we are a Nation who get cheap thrill in the excesses of our leaders.
under these circumsatnces one lone voice against Modi loses its Moral
value.

one can laud that voice if it is the first of such voices against all
simillar cases. would the same group look into the accusations against
the president and the CEC.

all said and done, they are doing a decent job of at least trying to
set right one scar on the face of india. hope somebody has it in them
to tackle the rest.

rgds/sridhar

Pub Chick says:
March 28, 2010 at 11:21 am

Sridhar, Bloomers? That explains all else.

abir says:
March 28, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Since Mr Modi has appeared before the SIT now Sajjan kumar and Jagdish
Tytler (accused in the anti-Sikh riots) also should be brought to
justice

Jyotindra Khandwalla says:
March 28, 2010 at 4:53 pm

A disturbing report in Economic Times today states the road for filing
FIR against Modi would open after SIT probe.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/After-SIT-will-FIR-be-filed-against-Narendra-Modi/articleshow/5733732.cms

Pub Chick says:
March 28, 2010 at 5:26 pm

abir, are you saying legal action against people accused of other
crimes is contingent upon Modi facing legal action? Watch what you
wish for etc.

Prashanth says:
March 28, 2010 at 7:25 pm

Offstumped, please remove this pubchick, which is such a big nuisance.
She is just trying to divert all serious discussions. After having all
media for themselves, these pseudos are trying to infiltrate rightist
blogs as well.

Pub Chick says:
March 28, 2010 at 8:05 pm

Prashanth, you also seem insecure apart from being ugly and horny.
That’s alright. We shall work on it.

psecular says:
March 28, 2010 at 10:26 pm

@prashant
pubechick is a gender bender, it keeps typing “ugly”, “horny” in its
sentences in various compbinations. Ignore it.

@abir
True, now that a bench mark of 9hr questioning marathon for riot
probes has been set, will the 1984 culprits who are alive (Rajiv is
dead anyways) be brought to attend such probes.

@offstumped,
Why is Teesta “aatank”vaad being allowed to fester anti-Indian
elements. Am I missing some development or is it intentional ?. Why is
she roaming free in civilized society in spite of getting caught red-
handed for perjury and manipulation of witness statements in crucial
cases ?. She is the queen of the colony where anti-indian elements,
thoughts and practices are being spawned and sheltered. Is Gujarat
govt or some citizens for real justice doing something to fix the
meance of teesta “aatank”vaad

Ketan says:
March 29, 2010 at 12:54 am

Pub Chick,

After reading many of your comments, it seems you don’t use “ugly” &
“horny” in their conventional sense.

By “ugly” you seem to mean someone taking a leap of faith, or in other
words, reaching inferences not led to by the available data; missing a
link in chain of reasoning, etc.

Or am I reading too much into your comments?

And I could not gather at all what you mean by “horny”.

Offstumped,

Firstly, what’s strange is that the list of Jaffrey’s petition does
not seem to contain name of any person actually present in the mob
that had killed the 68 people in her bungalow. She might have her
grievances with the office bearers, but in all her TV appearances, she
has hardly expressed anger at those who had actually committed the
crime. This dogged obsession with Narendra Modi to the exclusion of
those who actually committed the crime is, to repeat, strange.

The conjectural allegation that the entire judicial process’ fairness
is lost if the CJI shares dais with Modi is too imaginative to be
taken seriously.

The event was convocation of law students in a University in Gujarat,
so the choice of guests was quite apt – chief minister (representative
of the state where college is located) and the CJI (representative of
the judiciary with who the graduates were to get associated).

Independence of Judiciary is not compromised upon simply because both
Modi & CJI I had attended the same function in official capacities.

Moreover, it is not the CJI who is currently sitting over any of the
cases involving Modi. To imply that CJI by sharing dais with Modi will
influence his juniors who might hear cases involving Modi, is actually
a serious charge.

Applying that logic, the President of India who has historically been
aligned with the political adversary of Modi should not share dais
with any of the judges! Because promotions & appointments of certain
judges are carried out by the the CJI in consultation with the
president. That can influence the independence of the judiciary. Also,
none of the politicians must ever share stage with anyone from the
judiciary – you never know when someone from a political party will
commit a crime!

Raghavan was looking visibly irritated by enquiries about allegations
of Teesta against SIT’s fairness….

iHindu007 says:
March 29, 2010 at 12:54 am

I second Prashanth’s proposal. Can somebody show me what positive
content she has added to this site?

Ketan says:
March 29, 2010 at 12:55 am
…I don’t know if it matters, but Teesta is alienating many people, not
in the least, the CJI. This gives the impression that she does not
hope much from the final outcome of the entire judicial process, but
wants to gain as much victimhood as possible by making as many
allegations of unfairness & automatic victimization as possible.

Petitioning an official & trying to tell him how to spend time outside
his office is pretty gross.

Ketan says:
March 29, 2010 at 1:12 am

Offstumped, particularly, & others,

I have a small conflict of interest here in that I am finding a few
comments by Pub Chick very logical & pertinent to the agenda set by
Offstumped, though I must confess they have been numerically far in
between.

I urge Pub chick to desist from making personal remarks that would not
have relation to the blog post. This I am urging with the idea that
the pot can indeed objectively call a kettle black, ideally without
being sanctimonious about it.

To others, I can only urge that though difficult, please do not
respond to the personal aspects of Pub Chick’s comments.

Of course, eventually choice is Offstumped’s as to what to do.

Thanks!

Anon says:
March 29, 2010 at 1:18 pm

Manoj Mitta is a usual name.
You must read Sunday’s M u m b a i M i r r o r to see how Teesta’s
press release made to the first page

http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/mobile.aspx?article=yes&pageid=1&sectid=edid=&edlabel=MMIR&mydateHid=28-03-2010&pubname=Mirror+-+Mumbai&edname=&articleid=Ar00100&publabel=MM

Pub Chick says:
March 29, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Ketan,

What I’d want explained really is what this Prashanth means by calling
me pseudos. What does that mean? I must assure him through you that I
am real and I am spectacular.

Ketan says:
March 29, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Pub Chick,

I find you spectacular.

But I can’t be your interloctor

Or interloctator

Or whatever!

[see, I rhymed so well ]

To find you spectacular, Prashanth’s vision will have to get deranged
to the same degree as mine (as beauty lies in the eye of the beholder;
though spectacle lies just outside it).

And though consistency is desired, I can try but, may not be able to
maintain it. Our opinions should change or at least the strength of
conviction behind them should each time we come across a new piece of
information.

http://offstumped.wordpress.com/2010/03/28/day-after-narendra-modis-sit-deposition/

March 31, 2010 • 5:00 am
Narendra Modi for PM – Lazy op-ed by Sadanand Dhume

Sadananad Dhume, a columnist for the WSJ Asia, usually makes sound
arguments but this latest one by him on Narendra Modi can at best be
characterized as lazy.

It relies on Liberal Left cliches to make its point without offering
anything new by way of insight or analysis.

Dhume’s core point being

#1 – It will be difficult for BJP to attract allies willing to be
associated with Mr. Modi’s anti-Muslim image

#2 – India cannot afford to be led by someone who appears to believe
that only Hindus can be authentically Indian

#3 – The last thing India needs is a question mark over its reputation
as an oasis of secular democracy in a tough neighborhood

#4 - Leaders should also be free of even the slightest hint of blood
on their hands.

Now if Mr. Dhume had done a little more homework he would have
discovered that

#1 There is no substance to the canard that Mr. Modi believes only
Hindus can be authentically Indian. In fact if Mr. Dhume had paid any
attention to the media coverage of the 2007 elections the only kind of
identity Mr. Modi invoked was Gujarati pride.

#2 The campaign to deny Mr. Modi a visa was sponsored by those in the
United States with overt and covert links to Chicago’s Pakistani
Muslim Community. (Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3)

Sadanand Dhume’s column comes at the same time as the Congress Party
scoring self goals by likening Mr. Modi to Dawood Ibrahim and by
treating Amitabh Bacchan as a pariah and as an untouchable for being a
brand ambassador for Gujarat.

Mr. Dhume does have a point on the steep challenge Mr. Modi faces on
his acceptability gap visa-vis the Nehru-Gandhis.

But the rate at which Congress spokesperson like Manish Tiwari are
scoring self goals, Mr. Dhume may very will have to eat his words on
the immortality of that acceptability gap.

The litmus test for Leaders suggested by Mr. Dhume

“leaders should be free of even the slightest blood on their hands”

is disingenuous to say the least.

If we were to apply Mr. Dhume’s yardstick and hold other leaders
accountable for the failure of their Governments to protect, then Dr.
Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi would also end up with blood on their
hands on account of the 13 attacks of Mass Terror between 2005 and
2008.

Incidentally Mr. Dhume did write an op-ed on Islamist Terror in India
a couple of weeks back in which he says

when elected politicians pander to fundamentalist Muslim leaders—as
is common in large parts of the country—the bureaucracy, the courts
and the press must hold them accountable

before stopping short of either taking names of either Politicians or
Parties or suggesting that one must carry the taint for life for
pandering to Islamists.

It is an open question at this time whether Mr. Modi has firm Prime
Ministerial ambitions or if the BJP intends to project him.

However Sadanand Dhume’s litmus test for disbarring him even before
the contest has begun rests on disingenuous logic.

This makes his case against Narendra Modi for Prime Minister both
shallow and prejudiced.

6 Responses

Jyotindra Khandwalla says:
March 31, 2010 at 4:01 pm

Modi has always preferred himseld to be CM – Common Man – and devoted
to development of Gujarat. He has always said his life is governed by
mission and not ambition. Until and unless he is given clean chit of
bill by SC, he would not allow himself to be persuaded by his peers in
the party and coalition to think of becoming PM.
In his yesterday’s blog, his You-tube video of his Gujarati address on
Doordarshan next day after Godhra incident speaks volume of his
courage and character. This video is by-lined in English and English
transcript is available of his Gujarati speech.

chetan sharma says:
March 31, 2010 at 6:37 pm

Modi has implemented his final solution, hopefully for the last time,
in Gujarat. The people of India do not wish to see that taint spread
through the rest of the country. It is better that he stays as the CM
– Con Man – of Gujarat and continue trying to evade justice until he
his finally brought to trial for his crimes against humanity.

It will be a cold day in hell and a sorry day for India if and when
Modi represents this great country.

Ketan says:
March 31, 2010 at 10:00 pm

Offstumped,

I could not access the full article, guess, it requires subscription.

From the points you have quoted, I found only the first one of some
merit.

But I also believe, Modi has largely remained silent knowing whatever
he would have spoken would be distorted and only selectively reported
by the media. But as penetration of twitter and blogs is increasing,
it is becoming increasingly difficult for the media to continue to
distort. Probably, that is why now he has started coming out with
refutations of all the charges one by one. And needless to say, law is
taking its own course concurrently, which might totally absolve him of
guilt. There might come a time, when those accusing Modi will not be
taken seriously owing to lack of substance, & then fewer alliance
partners would want to distance themselves from Modi citing his
complicity/involvement in 2002 riots. I just hope media will report
these happening faithfully.

But one thing I fail to understand is why did you choose to address
points raised in an article that would be read by very few Indians and
which arguably does not have anything new to offer.

Chetan Sharma,

Which country are you referring to as “great”? And could you please
enlist a few criteria for greatness met by the said country? It would
also be nice if you could elaborate on the “taint”, the spread of
which you are afraid of.

Thanks in advance!

SlimShadee says:
March 31, 2010 at 10:02 pm

I love reading some of your posts and you come across as a fairly
intelligent person. So it’s rather surprising that you want to believe
that Modi was not involved in the 2002 genocide of Muslims. There were
lots of murmurs about his direct involvement immediately after the
incidents endorsed by many NGOs and certain people who were part of
the Gujarat administration. ( Read this to know what I am talking
about: http://www.twocircles.net/2008jul19/ex_dgp_rb_sreekumar_who_took_gujarat_govt_protect_law_and_human_rights.html)

And after the Tehelka sting operation everything was out in the open
about who was behind this dastardly act. Hardliners from the Sangh
Parivar are quick to say that these are all fabricated evidence which
is laughable really. There are hard facts my dear friend that
“Narendra bhai” not only let these killers loose, he also played with
the judicial system so that they went scot-free after the carnage. And
this by itself blots out all his other achievements, if any.

arjun says:
April 1, 2010 at 12:53 am

The same things can be said about Rajiv Gandhi and Sikh riots in 84.
But some people are selectively righteous and focus only on Gujarat.
Probably because Modi belongs to ideologically different political
thought.

This kind of intellectual dishonesty people can see through and that
is why Modi has so much support.

It is upto the people of Gujarat to decide whether Modi is a con man
or not. Not upto NGOs whose agenda and leanings are not above
suspicion.

psecular says:
April 1, 2010 at 1:38 pm
@arjun

also kashmir & kashmir pandits, I see no one talking about them. More
these anti-nationals get unreasonably vociferous about Gujarat and
Modi, more will they create awareness in Hindus about the hatred the
minorities have for Hinduism and force Hinduism to become radical like
the minority religions.

http://offstumped.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/lazy-op-ed-by-sadanand-dhume/

April 1, 2010 • 5:00 am
Right To Education – BJP missing in action

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the nation today as the Right
to Education Bill came in to law.

It was surprising to note that there was no response from the
principal political opposition to the Prime Minister’s speech.

In fact on the whole subject of the “Right to Education” it was
surprising to note that there was no policy paper or point of view
published by the BJP on its website.

All one gets to find on the BJP’s website on the subject of “Right to
Education” are passing remarks in a press conference in 2009 and some
cursory references in a Rajya Sabha debate.

Its a different matter that the original bill – “The Free and
Compulsory Education Bill tabled of 2003″, was tabled by a BJP lead
government.

The BJP has been missing in action on the policy debate ever since
neither having reviewed its policy stance from 2003 nor having offered
a credible alternative to the Congress sponsored legislation of 2009.

The Center for Civil Society, CCS has a comprehensive portal on
education tracing the debate on “Right to Education” from the 2003
bill through subsequent versions of legislation that eventually got
passed in 2009.

In fact Parth Shah of the CCS has a blistering article in the Mint
today on how the Right to Education act is the wrong way to go to
school.

Parth Shah’s critique of RTE centers mainly on three issues

#1 It is a massive takeover of education by the Government at the
expense of private institutions

#2 It essentially has morphed into a Right to Employment act for
Teachers with no direct accountability to Parents/School Management
and wide latitude to to Teachers Unions and unspecified School
Tribunals

#3 The legislation is half baked in that the model rules of
enforcement have not even been framed and left to the state
governments

It is surprising that the BJP that is seeking to reinvent itself as a
credible alternative to the Congress has failed to put up a policy
challenge to differentiate itself from the Congress on what is
essentially a Liberal Left sellout to lobbies and special interests
based on vast expansion of Government role in education including in
Private Schools.

The surprise is profound for the Sangh Parivar runs a large string of
private schools called “Sishu Mandirs” targeting the rural and urban
poor.

The lack of depth in its policy focus is one of many reasons the BJP
has failed to drive a sharp differentiation from the Congress leading
many to conclude that it is merely a B-team of the Congress.

As much as the BJP is critical of the Congress’ National Advisory
Council it must acknowledge the fact that the Congress has atleast
created a formal avenue to engage with outside policy experts even if
they are of the Liberal Left persuasion.

The absence of a similar forum within the BJP to engage with policy
experts is reflected in the poor quality of its political responses to
policy issues.

Engaging tired and retired journalists and bureaucrats (with the
notable exception of few eminent voices) is no substitute for a sound
body of policy research, knowledge and experise.

In fact the BJP’s policy incoherence must be directly attributed to
its failure to nurture Policy Institutions in its 6 years in office to
advance an alternative philosophy of governance and to create a body
of policy knowledge.

This entire episode highlights once again the fallacy of using
Identity as an Ideological label.

For political Hindutva of the 1990s neither offers a basis to
articulate the BJP’s position on the Right to Education Bill nor does
it help the BJP differentiate itself from the Congress on the Right to
Education Bill.

BJP’s claim that Integral Humanism is its guiding philosophy is also
shallow.

For example Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay in his remarks on Integral
Humanism says that

When the state-acquires all powers, both political and economic, the
result is a decline of Dharma. In this way if the state has unlimited
powers, the whole society looks towards the state, for everything.
Officers of the government neglect their duties and acquire vested
interests. These are all signs of the preponderance of the powers of
state.

Yet the BJP has no policy position on what must be called the largest
acquisition of political and economic power on Education by the State.

The reality is that the BJP has not even bothered to revisit Integral
Humanism since the 1960s nor has it attempted to make Integral
Humanism current and relevant .

This goes to highlight the damage political Hindutva has done to
intellectual faculties within the Party.

The result is the present state of the BJP where there is no coherent
ideological framework within the Party based on which policies can be
formulated.

What is worse Hindutva has become a Litmus Test of sorts

#1 causing the Party to narrowly look within its ranks for Policy
formulation

#2 preventing the Party from engaging a wider pool of Professional
experts who are ideologically opposed to Left Liberalism but are not
necessarily of the saffron hue

As Mr. Nitin Gadkari looks beyond his political A-team he must
seriously consider constituting a Policy Advisory Council by seeking
participation from a wide pool of Policy Experts who are broadly
opposed to the Left Liberal prescriptions of the Congress.

4 Responses

Pilid says:
April 1, 2010 at 6:08 am

1. Agree with your critique about the BJP’s lack of engagement but I
am mystified why you are so upset about it since the problem is hardly
new or novel. On how many other issues, particularly domestic ones
affecting the general public, has the BJP offered coherent, well
considered, alternative policy positions or come out with policy
papers? I cannot recall many. Not price rise, not on the healthcare
bill, not on GM crops…On the WRB, it was engaged but offered no
alternative at all.

Since the BJP is prone to swinging to the Leftist drumbeat on many an
occasion, I am not sure whether the BJP is being a B-team of the
Congress or the Left.

The party would do well to take a leaf out of the CPM’s handbook and
come out with cogent proposals made from a right-of-center
perspective. But it would have to clear the profound ideological
confusion within ranks before there can be any prospect of such
change. Policy experts can only opine; their political backers have to
be supportive of the effort for it to succeed.

2. I don’t see the RTE act as govt. takeover. Takeover would mean
govt. also taking responsibility for running the schools but here it
does nothing of the sort. RTE Act gives govt. power to intervene
without the commensurate responsibility but this is hardly new. We
have seen this before in professional colleges and the same thing is
being extended now to schools.

3. Others have commented as well on the need for teachers’
accountability. The government is empowered to enforce accountability
under the Act; whether it will do so still remains to be seen. Since
implementation has only begun, the last word has not yet been said.

Teachers are held to account based on their service rules which could
mean that private schools will continue to have the autonomy to follow
their own accountability & disciplinary methods (which is probably a
good thing).

4. Agree that model rules are half baked which is the cause of all the
litigation but because of that, it might get resolved more quickly
than otherwise.

drummasala says:
April 1, 2010 at 6:26 am

Offstumped is right in saying this about BJP. I have one question
though, if BJP does all the things you mentioned:

1) Will this things reach to aam admi taking hostile media into
account?
2) Even if it reaches, how many people will understand this taking lot
of illiterate population.
3) Even if people understand, will they vote for BJP?

I don’t believe. People will vote based on caste or good looking
candidates like prince charming (pub chick is one of the voter in this
category).
If people could not vote out CON party even after 26/11, I don’t see
any chances even if BJP brings these things on RTI.

Umesh says:
April 1, 2010 at 9:01 am

If BJP needs to capture the Intellectual space. Then they need to be
involved in the debate.

I propose the following strategy.
a) Be gracious and accept that RTE is a good step.
b) Make the point that due to lack of resources 10 years back we could
not do it. Hopefully, things are better now.
c) Attack the flaws in the Bill

i) How is financing for the 25% quota come across. The Bill seems to
be clueless on this. State Govt’s are already crying foul. I dont seen
an allocation like MNREGA being mentioned here.

Without financial allocation this will be just pure paper, No action.

My two pence.

Yossarinji,
Please comment on this..

Sudhir says:
April 1, 2010 at 4:21 pm
@drummasala – I don’t think media not taking it up or illetrate
population not caring, should be reason enough for BJP not to explain
positions in detail.

There is a large chunk of literate audience out there, who can be
influeced too. I agree with Yoss on the broad point – BJP needs to
have an alternative view point on many of such cases – merely
accepting the government’s proposal or shouting rhetoric from the roof
top will not help.

- Sudhir

Real Time Commentary via Twitter

No Sachar or Mishra prescription can make a difference to this
backwardness perpetuated by competitive ghetto politics Offstumped on
Twitter 7 hours ago

This is the second instance where Muslim factional politics has lead
to power projection on the streets and ended up provoking riots
Offstumped on Twitter 7 hours ago

Hyderabad Riots and Muslim factional politics RT @ssudhirkumar best
accounts of why the riots actually happened. http://bit.ly/aIA5R
Offstumped on Twitter 7 hours ago

Looks like Social Engineering will trip politics of Muslim vote bank
consolidation thanks to caste/class divide within Indian Muslims
Offstumped on Twitter 7 hours ago
Vidya Subramaniams reality check on Muslim quota

http://bit.ly/cYUS7Z
oped in Indian express confirms Muslim divide

http://bit.ly/cVvD
MY Offstumped on Twitter 7 hours ago

And here is the real reason for avoiding Parliament
http://bit.ly/c8KlRv Offstumped on Twitter 8 hours ago

RT @PRSLegislative 5 positions @ PRS PRS is looking for 5 motivated
individuals to join its team. For further details
http://bit.ly/dmSRlt Offstumped on Twitter 8 hours ago

Why have the Parliament at all if debate is going to subverted to suit
the convenience of the Party in Government
http://bit.ly/9G7FPp Offstumped on Twitter 8 hours ago

Syed Saleem Shahzad writes on Culture too
http://bit.ly/akEl74
no it's not an April Fools day joke Offstumped on Twitter 9 hours ago

On Right To Education BJP is missing in action:
http://wp.me/ptnDV-Ft Offstumped on Twitter 11 hours ago

If the BJP cannot differentiate itself from the Congress on half baked
legislations like RTE then it is no better than a B-Team of Congress
Offstumped on Twitter 16 hours ago

Surprised how the BJP allowed such a massive government takeover of
Education without the semblance of debate or challenge Offstumped on
Twitter 16 hours ago

Blistering critique from @ParthJShah RTE has become "Right to
Employment" to Teachers
http://bit.ly/9qoF8g Offstumped on Twitter 16 hours ago

Must read @PrathJShah on Right To Education - The wrong way to school
http://www.livemint.com/2010/03/31215740/The-wrong-way-to-school.html
Offstumped on Twitter 16 hours ago

As much as BJP mocks the National Advisory Council time it put in
place a Policy Advisory Council of outside experts
http://is.gd/b8nOm Offstumped on Twitter 19 hours ago

More details on the 100 hours of Community Service for Youth here
http://is.gd/b8jIY Offstumped on Twitter 20 hours ago

Speaking of Education Just got an email from Narendra Mod's Portal on
"Vanche Gujarat" a Community initiative of 100 hrs to promote Reading
Offstumped on Twitter 20 hours ago

CCS has a comprehensive portal on Right To Education starting with
2003 bill http://is.gd/b8j4l least BJP can do is co-opt policy experts
Offstumped on Twitter 20 hours ago

http://offstumped.wordpress.com/2010/04/01/right-to-education-bjp-missing-in-action/

Gadkari blames UPA’s bad governance for price rise
By IANS
March 31st, 2010

KOLKATA - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari
Wednesday blamed “bad governance” of the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) government for the spiralling prices of essential items.

History tells us that whenever the Congress is in power, prices go up,
Gadkari said at a party convention here.

The BJP chief said unless the present government is ousted, prices
would remain high.

“The commoners are facing serious problems due to skyrocketing prices.
This is due to bad governance of the UPA government,” he said.

http://blog.taragana.com/politics/2010/03/31/gadkari-blames-upas-bad-governance-for-price-rise-26375/

BJP amends party constitution, to have more office-bearers
By IANS
February 18th, 2010

INDORE - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has amended its constitution
to increase the number of posts of central office-bearers and simplify
the process of organisational elections.

The resolution to amend the constitution was moved by party vice-
president Balasaheb Apte at the meeting of the party’s national
council here Thursday, party sources said.

The move to increase the number of its office-bearers follows the
party’s decision to keep one-third posts at all levels for women.

Party sources said that following the amendment, the strength of
central office-bearers will go up from 29 to 37.

The party will now have nine general secretaries (seven earlier), 12
vice-presidents (nine earlier), and 15 secretaries (twelve earlier),
apart from a treasurer.

The national executive will now have 120 members, the sources said.

New BJP office bearers to meet April 2
By IANS
March 24th, 2010

NEW DELHI - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari will
meet his new office bearers on April 2 to chalk out the strategy for
the party’s campaign against rising prices.

“The April 2 meeting of office-bearers will discuss BJP’s anti-price
rise agitation and preparations for the April 21 rally in Delhi,” BJP
headquarters in-charge Shyam Jaju told IANS.

This will be the first meeting of party office bearers after Gadkari
announced his team March 16.

The meeting will be attended by senior party leader L.K. Advani,
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Leader of
Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, among others.

The BJP has planned a big rally in the capital against price rise
April 21 and the meeting is expected to discuss efforts to mobilise
people for it.

The meeting will also chalk out programmes for the future, a party
official said adding that Gadkari would distribute work among new
office bearers only after meeting them.

The announcement of the new team had led to criticism about its
composition from some party leaders from Bihar including Shatrughan
Sinha and C.P. Thakur. Gadkari told them not to raise their grievances
in the media.

Gadkari’s new team has 12 general secretaries, 11 vice-presidents (two
posts are vacant) and 15 secretaries. Women have been given 33 percent
representation in the national executive committee.

http://blog.taragana.com/politics/2010/03/24/new-bjp-office-bearers-to-meet-april-2-25056/

Sid Harth

unread,

Apr 1, 2010, 11:12:44 AM4/1/10

hindurenaissance.com/index.php/contact-us/samskriti-viv - [Cached
Version]
Published on: 1/19/2010 Last Visited: 1/19/2010

Dr. Srinivasan Kalyanaraman

hindurenaissance.com/index.php?option=com_magazine&func - [Cached
Version]
Published on: 10/5/2007 Last Visited: 1/4/2008

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman was a senior executive in the Asian Development
Bank for 18 years until 1995.He was responsible for disbursing a
portfolio of US Dollars 60 Billion for over 650 development projects
in 29 countries.He also introduced a world-wide information network
for managing the assets of the bank.He has travelled widely in Bharat,
and has visited many countries around the world.Earlier to 1978, he
was Chief Controller of Accounts, Karnataka Electricity Board and as
member of Indian Railway Accounts Service, a financial advisor on the
Railways, for 17 years.He has also worked in the Accountant General's
Office, Bangalore for 4 years from 1958 to 1961.He was involved in the
introduction of the first computers on the Railways in 1965, as a
member of a Task Force set up by the Electronics Commission of
India.He has a Ph.D. in Public Administration and his two volume work,
Public Administration in Asia has been published which is a
comparative study of development administration in six Asian
countries.His graduate degree is in Economics and Statistics.He was
born in 1939 in Tanjore district.He is well-versed in Kannada, Telugu,
Tamil, Hindi and Sanskrit languages.He took voluntary retirement from
the Bank and returned to Bharat, to devote himself to his life-
activity of researches on River Sarasvati and Bharatiya
Civilization.He directs the Sarasvati Research Centre which is
affiliated with Akhil Bharatiya Itihasa Sankalana Yojana.He has done
researches on the discovery of the courses of Vedic River Sarasvati
and the possibility of this river flowing again as part of a national
network of rivers.He has been involved in promoting the National Water
Grid to ensure water for everyone for several generations to come and
to take the nation to a developed country status by the year 2010.He
has set up a website with over 30,000 files on River Sarasvati and
Civilization at http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati The site includes
his multi-lingual dictionary for over 25 ancient languages of Bharat,
Rigveda rica-s and translation into English based on Sa yana Bhaashya
The Indiancivilization internet group set up by him has over 750
active members from all parts of the world, discussing Bharatiya
Civilization issues..His 1100-page volume on Sarasvati was published
from Bangalore in 2001.His 7-volume encyclopaedic work on Sarasvati
Civilization was published in 2004.The 7 volumes are: Sarasvati:
Civilization; Sarasvati: Rigveda; Sarasvati: River; Sarasvati:
Bharati; Sarasvati: Technology; Sarasvati: Language; Sarasvati:
Epigraphs.He has cracked the code of Sarasvati hieroglyphs as artisan
guilds' activities related to minerals, metals, furnaces and artifacts
of metals in a transition from chalcolithic to alloy (bronze/brass)
phase of civilization.He presented his research findings on Sarasvati
in the World Sanskrit Conference held in Bangalore in 1996.He is a
recipient of the prestigious Vakankar Award in the year 2000.He is
President of the World Association of Vedic Studies in Bharat, and is
associated with many research and non-governmental voluntary
organizations including Rashtrotthana Research and Communications
Centre in Bangalore, India.S. Kalyanaraman20 August
2005ka...@gmail.com

http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati

Exploring Religious Conflicts? RAND as New Religious Media (NRM)
By: Dr S Kalyanaraman
August 23, 2005

Views expressed here are author’s own and not of this website. Full
disclaimer is at the bottom.
The author is Former Sr. Exec., Asian Development Bank. Director of
Sarasvati Research Centre, Chennai

Gregory F. Treverton[1], Heather S. Gregg, Daniel Gibran, Charles W.
Yost have authored a RAND Corporation report titled “Exploring
Religious Conflict”. The “new” finding of this report, is an acronym
“NRM” denoting “New Religious Movement”, which, according to the
authors, threaten to develop like tumors into violent organizations
(think “Al Qaida”), threatening the USA and the rest of the world.
Apparently this was the product of a 3-day Worskhop of ‘intelligence
analysts and religious experts’ on religious conflict, hosted by RAND
corporation (estimated cost to the US taxpayer: $100,000). This report
is interesting primarily because it either plumbs depths of
incompetence hitherto unreached by the American “Strategic Affairs”
community, or caters to a strange combination of Marxist Communist
and extreme right-wing Christian fundamentalist propaganda. It appears
that RAND has “found” religion and joined another “NRM”: New Religious
Media

What is cited as the intellectual foundation of the report is
(University of California leftist academic ) Mark Juergensmeyer’s
concept of “Cosmic War”. Is this just an attempt to go one better on
Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations”? Hard to tell, but the
reader is welcome to try:

“This concept refers to the metaphysical battle between the forces of
Good and Evil that enlivens the religious imagination and compels
violent action. Cosmic war has roots in the theology of most
religions. In the three monotheistic religions, it is the Day of
Judgment, the cosmic battle between Good and Evil, and the realization
of God’s ultimate purpose for His creation. In Hinduism and Buddhism,
it is the perennial struggle to exit the Wheel of Existences with its
continuous cycle of rebirths in order to return to Brahman or achieve
Nirvana. Cosmic war ensues when this inner conflict between Good and
Evil becomes manifest – physical, not metaphysical.”

If that doesn’t give pause to the reader who thought RAND was a
professional organization, the methodology, data, analysis and
conclusions of the RAND report certainly will. According to Treverton
et al,

"NRMs (New Religious Movements) can be found in Hinduism – the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, Israel (Gush Emunim), Christianity
(the US-based Identity Movement) and Islam, including Al-Qaeda, a
global network with a transcendant vision that draws support in the
defence of Islam." And added, “…Al-Qaeda cannot be defeated by force,
but only by reaching out to its roots in religion and promoting
convergence of Christianity and Islam.”

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had a succinct term: “weasel words”
to describe the contortions of left-wing “analysts” and Saudi-owned
American politicians to argue for appeasement of terrorism. For those
who might depend on RAND for information, let us point out that Al
Qaeda is considered to be a 1992 or 1996 invention. The timing
coincided with the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, when
the Pakistani ISI, funded by the unwitting American taxpayer through
the largesse of “experts” like RAND’s, helped to turn weapons,
training and the surviving hordes of Islamic extremists brainwashed in
the madarssas of Pakistan, against the Infidels of the West – viz,
America. Now let us examine RAND’s list of “New Religious Movements”
that Treverton et al try to club with Al Qaeda – both for what it
includes, and what it omits.

The report’s contribution is a false generalization on metaphysical,
co(s)mic war, flippant comparisons unrelated to cultural or
civilizational contexts. There is little evidence of analytical rigor
and virtually no empirical basis. Lacking original thought or
evidence, the report trivializes the threat of terror with the
arbitrary choice of 'New Religious Movements' (NRMs) cited as examples
of a new innovative category.

The report appears to whitewash Al Qaeda, with its proclaimed mission
of jihad against the world, by clubbing it with a mishmash of socio-
political entities and obscure movements. For instance, “Gush Emunim”
is an organization of Israeli Settlers in the Middle East, with no
evidence of any axe to grind against anyone except those who try to
oust them from their homes. The “Christian Identity Movement” is a
superset of weekend warriors in America who don camouflage and prance
around the pine forests of Alabama or Idaho, imagining a world of
“Aryan Domination”. And with these is RAND’s amazing classification of
the Indian “RSS” (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh”) as a “NEW” Religious
Movement! The RSS, just to give Treverton and his gang of Einsteins a
hint, was formed in 1925. That, per the calendar normally followed
even in California, was 80 years ago. It predates RAND and Treverton
by a long way. It may even predate the American entities such as the
Neo Conservative Movement, the Moral Majority, and the Jubilee Mission
Baptist Church. The RSS is the world’s largest volunteer organization,
with over 12 million volunteers. How RAND came to the conclusion that
the RSS is “new” and poses a threat to the rest of the world, is a
question that the US taxpayers who funded this “Workshop” and “Report”
may well ask.

Is RAND trying to deflect the focus of American lawmakers from the
focus on war on terror? It was not too long ago that RAND’s Parachini
noted:

"Given the thousands of Jihadists trained in Afghanistan, the struggle
with al Qaeda is liable to last for a decade or more."

The principal author of the present RAND report, Treverton, seemed to
have different ideas:

"Al Qaeda may eventually be contained, but new threats are likely to
emerge. So the task is to contain terrorism; it cannot be rooted out.
That task sometimes requires military instruments, as in Afghanistan,
but most of the time it is a matter of patient, multilateral police
and intelligence work."

Both quotes from a symposium held in 2003 by RAND jointly with
Frontpage Magazine.

Garbage in, garbage out is the adage of the information age. Treverton
clarifies what he meant in the above quote, with his new statement in
the present report. Here is an example of terse observations and
profound policy recommendations in the present report:

"…Al-Qaeda cannot be defeated by force, but only by reaching out to
its roots in religion and promoting convergence of Christianity and
Islam."

Such a policy prescription of Christian-Islam religious convergence
has, unfortunately, NOT been backed up by evidence and critical
analysis of the underlying causes and patterns of Islamist terror.
After all, almost all major terror events, recorded so far, have
emanated only from Taliban (that is, madarasa students) or traceable
only to terrorists trained in or with links to non-democratic,
Islamist countries of Pakistan and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. What does
‘convergence of Christianity and Islam’ mean? Should Christianity
adopt Islamist jihad as a central doctrine?

When they take a break from hallucinating on ‘cosmic wars’, RAND
thinkers might consider introspecting on the Hindu response to jihad
in India for nearly 8 centuries. They may find it useful to refer to
Andrew Bostom, 2005, 'The Legacy of Jihad - Islamic Holy War and the
Fate of Non-muslims,' Prometheus Books. Al Qaeda is not another NRM,
it provides the justification for all the terror activities the world
has witnessed so far, be it in New York, Thailand, London or Ayodhya.
See also Andrew Bostom's 'Legacy of Jihad in India', July 2005 in the
American Thinker.

"Rarely understood, let alone acknowledged, however, is the history of
brutal jihad conquest, Muslim colonization, and the imposition of
dhimmitude shared by the Jews of historical Palestine, and the Hindus
of the Indian subcontinent. Moreover, both peoples and nations also
have in common, a subsequent, albeit much briefer British colonial
legacy, which despite its own abuses, abrogated the system of
dhimmitude (permanently for Israel and India, if not, sadly, for their
contemporary Muslim neighboring states), and created the nascent
institutions upon which thriving democratic societies have been
constructed."

Dhimmitude: the Islamic system of governing populations conquered by
jihad wars, encompassing all of the demographic, ethnic, and religious
aspects of the political system. The word "dhimmitude" as a historical
concept, was coined by Bat Ye'or in 1983 to describe the legal and
social conditions of Jews and Christians subjected to Islamic rule.
The word "dhimmitude" comes from dhimmi, an Arabic word meaning
"protected". Dhimmi was the name applied by the Arab-Muslim conquerors
to indigenous non-Muslim populations who surrendered by a treaty
(dhimma) to Muslim domination.

We note that the project was funded by the CIA's Directorate of
Intelligence – the same people who did not see any threat in Mohammed
Atta and Co. as they watched them enter the US and “learn to fly” in
2001. One wonders why the CIA Directorate of Intelligence would fund a
public-release report, especially with such a contortion of logic. Is
this to impress the taxpayer with the forward-looking attitude at the
top levels of the new US Intelligence Administration? Does the new CIA
operate through public conferences and reports to do its intelligence-
gathering? Perhaps the more relevant link to this report is from the
creation in January 2001 of a White House Office of Faith-Based and
Community Initiatives.

Religious Motivation of RAND’s Expertise

Many, including the present author, believed RAND to be a secular,
objective think-tank. We were clearly mistaken. The experts who
participated in the workshop that led to Treverton’s Report have very
clear ideas on how Christianity should spread over the globe. Some
quotes from their works may be apposite. RAND should clearly be
considered to be a New Religious Medium of modern-day crusaders,
producing a denominational newsletter. The Jubliee Mission Baptist
Church would be proud. Let us look at some of the Workshop
participants.

Philip Jenkins, who claims to provide an alternative analytical
framework opposing Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations,
notes:

Moreover, conversions will swell the Christian share of world
population. Meanwhile, historically low birthrates in the
traditionally Christian states of Europe mean that their populations
are declining or stagnant…Christianity should enjoy a worldwide boom
in the new century, but the vast majority of believers will be neither
white nor European, nor Euro-American…But far from Islam being the
world's largest religion by 2020 or so, as Huntington suggests,
Christianity will still have a massive lead, and will maintain its
position into the foreseeable future. By 2050, there should still be
about three Christians for every two Muslims worldwide…I dispute
Huntington's assertion that "Christianity spreads primarily by
conversion, Islam by conversion and reproduction…No less than
Christians, Muslims will be transformed by the epochal demographic
events of the coming decades, the shift of gravity of population to
the Two-Thirds World. Muslim and Christian nations will expand
adjacent to each other, and, often, Muslim and Christian communities
will both grow within the same country."

Jack Miles is best known for his Website: Author of: God: A biography,
Christ: A crisis in the Life of God. He is the author of: 'Ringing
the firebell for freedom of religion - keynote address: 'March of
theocrats' Rally and Teach-in' (LA, June 2005). Quote:

"We are not alone, friends, but many who are our natural allies are
asleep, and it falls to us to awaken them."

Ian Lustick’s views are recorded at this website . Guru that he is,
Lustick comes up with some novel little ideas about big world
problems, like:

"I supported the war [in Afghanistan] but I warned that we needed a
Goldilocks outcome and we didn't get it."

"I think about terrorism in terms of popcorn. You can't tell which
kernels are popcorn and which are not, but you assume you'll always
have some kernels that are going to pop."

According to a book review by Joshua Sinai, Ph.D., which appears on
homelanddefense.org:

"Lustick dismisses the concept of terrorism as a valid conceptual
term. Instead, he embraces what he terms an 'extensive', as opposed to
an 'intensive', definition of terrorism that is not bound by any
limiting 'conditions'. This, he claims, enables one to classify
activities as 'terrorist' if they encompass any violent 'actions and
threats' by governmental militaries and even 'tax collectors', as well
as insurgents."

(source: (1) URL1, URL3

Thus RAND’s new authorities on terrorism appear to such theologians or
Jesuit seminarians with their fire-and-brimstone orations of bigotry.
RAND is therefore appropriately branded as an extension of a seminary
and an entity not unlike the Seventh Day Adventists or Jubilee
Mission. A New Religious Medium.

A splendid exception is Juan Cole who wrote his piece 'Can ethnic
cleansing bring back Jesus?' on May 20, 2004. Juan cites Rick
Perlstein's piece in the Village Voice with admiration.
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0420/perlstein.php

"The gem in the article is the account of how Iran-Contra criminal
mastermind and current National Security Adviser Elliot Abrams tried
to reassure the Christian Zionists that an Israeli "withdrawal" from
Gaza will not interfere with Jesus coming back because it wasn't part
of ancient Israel. Actually, this is right. Gaza was in Philistia, not
Judah, which was to its east. But for that matter, when the kingdoms
split, the West Bank wasn't in "Israel" either, it was in Judah... It
has for some time been obvious to me that the Bush foreign policy in
the Middle East is driven by irrational and often puzzling
considerations. But I hadn't stopped to consider, until Perlstein's
excellent piece, that the White House is trying to bring about an
apocalypse that would hasten Christ's return. And a damn fine job
they're doing of it, if that's what they are up to. Why, the place is
more apocalyptic every day." (Source: Anti war website)

The RAND report said: "NRMs (New Religious Movements) can be found in
Hinduism - the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, Israel (Gush
Emunim), Christianity (the US-based Identity Movement) and Islam,
including Al-Qaeda, a global network with a transcendant vision that
draws support in the defence of Islam." And added, "…Al-Qaeda cannot
be defeated by force, but only by reaching out to its roots in
religion and promoting convergence of Christianity and Islam."

Convergence of Christianity and Islam? A breath-taking prognosis,
indeed. RAND should consider a larger workshop on this issue in the
context of jihad as anti-terror. Sure, dancing with the devil is an
option when all other options are not on the table. Seriously, does
RAND endorse this recommendation to counter jihad?

This innovation of a new definition for a 'New Religious Movement'
which identifies RSS, Gush Emunim, Identity Movement and Al-Qaeda is,
to put it mildly, ridiculous, reducing the cosmic war of Mark to a
comic war.

The US taxpayer might have saved a lot of money by getting Treverton
instead to read to the CIA the report long-since published by Indian
tank ORF (Observer Research Foundation. They might have learned more
about the true nature of Al Qaeda and a vivid scan of religious
conflicts. Indeed, any academic worth his/her salt would have known
the conclusion:

"Al Qaeda is a revanchist organisation, which holds the West in
general and the US in particular responsible for all the evils
afflicting the Islamic world and for the decline of the political
power of Islam since the end of the Ottoman Empire. It wants to avenge
the wrongs allegedly committed against the Muslims since the end of
the Ottoman Empire, re-write history and restore an Islamic Caliphate
from which Western influence would be totally excluded. It is
comparable to the Nazis of Germany in its revanchist ideas and
actions. The Nazis blamed the rest of the Western world for the
decline of Germany since the First World War and for all the evils
afflicting Germany. They wanted to restore the pre-eminent position of
Germany in the world. If the world leaders of that time had said "Let
us address the root causes of Nazism first, before we fight the Nazis
and Adolf Hitler", where would the world be today?

The call to address the root causes of the Al Qaeda today is as short-
sighted as a call to first address the root causes of Nazism would
have been in the early 1940s… The conventional wisdom relating to
terrorism attributes the rise of terrorism to political, economic and
social factors such as perceptions of social injustice, violations of
human rights, suppression of the democratic rights of the people, lack
of economic development resulting in poverty and unemployment etc. It,
therefore, holds that if these so-called root causes are addressed,
terrorism will wither away. Does this theory apply to the Al Qaeda?
No, it does not. If this theory is correct, there should be no
activities of the Jemaah Islamiya (JI) in Malaysia and Singapore, the
two most prosperous and progressive states of South-East Asia. There
should be no Al Qaeda activities in Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Turkey
where there is greater prosperity than in many other countries of Asia
and Africa. There should be no Al Qaeda activities in West Europe
where there is economic prosperity, greater social justice and better
observance of human rights than in many countries of Asia and Africa.
There should have been less terrorism in Pakistan because of its
impressive economic growth since 9/11, but its economic gains have had
no impact on its jihadi terrorists. The Al Qaeda is not fighting for
democratic rights for the Muslims. On the contrary, it is fighting
against the principles of liberal democracy on the ground that they
are anti-Islam…The world has much to learn from India. How to continue
to keep India such an oasis? That is one of the questions we have to
address, while drawing lessons for the future. We cannot afford to be
complacent that India does not provide a fertile soil for the Al
Qaeda. The Al Qaeda may not be active in India, but many of the
Pakistani members of the International Islamic Front are. They could
turn out to be the Trojan Horse of the Al Qaeda. The success of the
Indian example is due to the success of its democracy, its non-
military approach to counter-terrorism, the role of the leaders of
different communities in countering tendencies towards religious or
ideological extremism and the cultural unity in the midst of religious
and linguistic diversity in India."

Source: see link See also: Symposium of RAND and Frontpage: Diagnosing
Al Qaeda "Given the thousands of Jihadists trained in Afghanistan, the
struggle with al Qaeda is liable to last for a decade or more." (John
Parachini)

Naming the US-based Identity Movement in this category is also amusing
and seems to be only for effect, just to show that the RAND report is
unbiased and dares to include a christist movement also in the New
Religious Movement category. A fair appraisal of christist activities
through various denominations in various parts of the globe as
baptizing missions, proselytizers, evangelists would clearly have
demonstrated the core causes of religious conflicts created by such
activities. That such large numbers of christist organizations are
left out is indeed strange considering that the inspiration is drawn
from the concept of 'cosmic wars' between 'good and evil'. If
christism is not a battle between Good and Evil, what other religious
movement, with the exception of Islamism, is? This mysterious,
unidentified 'Identity Movement' has been left undefined in the RAND
report, leaving it to the readers, congressmen, and policy makers to
draw their own conclusions.

We would agree with Nicole Nichols: make the outlaws accountable and
would add: don't give them a cosmic wacko status. Source: See link:
link Has RAND noted the involvement of a Pakistani Hamas leader in the
bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma city?

The absurdity of Juergensmeyer's analysis would have been apparent to
any student of theology, but since Mark wears at least three hats, of
sociology, of global conflict and of religious studies, his work
presents the potential for becoming the basis for any drastic
conclusions and plans of action by the intelligence community. His
postulation should have naturally led to the identification of Dalai
Lama's Tibetan Lama groups as a 'New Religious Movement' entering into
physical conflicts. That the report does not categorize these groups
is indeed surprising. It is also surprising that Mark does not even
refer to sanatana dharma or dhammo sanantano in the context of
'Brahman or Nirvana.' as 'exits'. We will not digress by exposing the
ridiculous nature of analysis by Mark referring to 'exits'.
Unfortunately, Mark has not provided any evidence for this 'exit'
postulation.

The logical application of Juergensmeyer's profound analysis of cosmic
wars and exits should have led to the identification of all the
adherents of Bauddha (aka Buddhism) and Dharma (Sanatana dharma or
Hindu dharma or dhammo sanantano) as prone to violence, manifesting
evil in physical terms, dramatically descending (by some unknown
processes) from the metaphysical levels.

Such a framework should have normally led to the identification of the
entire spectrum of those seeking return to 'Brahman or achieve
Nirvana' as a cult. Unfortunately, this would be absurd because the
'cults' cannot be declared as 'new' since both groups pre-date the
arrival of Christ and certainly Mohammed.

Why Does RAND Squirm When Exposed?

When the principal author, Greg Treverton was asked for
clarifications, he waffled with statements such as:

“The press story is basically accurate, but its headline is not. The
headline implies we somehow link RSS and Al Qaeda. In fact, what we
say, and the story has accurately, is that many religious traditions
have spawned "new" religious movements, and we cite RSS as an example
from Hinduism, along with AlQaeda as one from Islam, along with Jewish
and Christian examples. We also say, and the story quotes, that almost
all of these new movements are non-violent. There is nothing to imply
any connection at all between RSS and Al Qaeda. Do have a look at the
study.”

Apparently it had still not occurred to this uber-genius that the RSS
was created before he was born. When asked for detailed information
on the workshop and papers if any, presented, the response of Greg
Treverton was equally elusive:

"Thank you for your note. You have the report, which has all the
details about the workshops."

Unfortunately, the Report authored by Treveton DOES NOT provide the
details, and he certainly implied that the RSS was not only new, but
was likely to become a threat to US security (what the taxpayer paid
RAND to explore). So much for the way RAND deals with comments
provided in response to the Report, even though the Report proclaims:
"Comments are welcome." So much for transparency in dealing with
issues dealt with in Terrorism and Homeland Security Research Area.
See: Rand.org

We agree with Greg Treverton who said in another context:

"In a world in which everyone is dependent on information processors,
(the CIA) should think of themselves as the shapers and verifiers of
all that information," says Treverton, now an analyst at Rand Corp.
See: link

It is therefore not surprising that the RAND has little information,
logic or evidence of intelligent information processing. The intent
appears to be that the RAND name and the CIA sponsorship label are
enough to propagate the authors’ personal religious agendas.

So DID RAND “Explore Religious Conflicts”?

We would have expected RAND to address the most serious issue of
Religious Conflicts with a careful evaluation of facts and figures. We
find neither facts nor figures in the Report. Here are samples of
statements made and opinions expressed, sans evidence:

"Are there potential NRMs, even violent ones, apart from those spawned
by Islamic radicalism? The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in India,
an ultra-Hindu nationalist movement, is one such organization."

"…the movement was banned for a few years by the Indian government
because of its acts of violence and terrorism and its exhortation to
followers to resort to terrorist methods in the promulgation of its
religious ideas."

"…the RSS continued to gain momentum and was engaged in violence,
particularly against what it viewed to be threats against the Hindu
state, namely Muslims and Christians. Their religious view, with its
cosmic dimension, remains a threat to the idea of India as a secular
state."

"The RSS is largely middle class, as is the BJP."

That RSS has nothing to do with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi
and that it was a movement born during the fight for independence of
India from the British colonial regime, has been recognized by courts
of law in India ; to cite Wikipedia, which is apparently beyond the
means of RAND to have looked up:

"In 1925, Dr. Balasaheb Hedgewar, a Nagpur doctor formed the Rashtriya
Swayemsevak Sangh. The word "Rashtriya" means "National," and the word
"Sangh" means "Union". The word "Swayemsevak" may be translated to
mean a self-reliant servant of the people and country, a volunteer in
spirit and patriot in action…The RSS fought alongside the Congress for
national independence…the RSS opposed the partition of the country,
and is widely associated with anti-Muslim riots and the assassination
of Mahatma Gandhi, it had in fact performed important work by serving
the millions of Hindu and Sikh refugees coming out of Pakistan,
escaping bloody violence and leaving behind ancestral homes in terror.
Although there was no link whatsoever between the RSS and Gandhi's
assassins…" Source: Wikipedia

See what Jack Miles, an expert who participated in the workshop had to
say in another context:

"'Thus, in India, those who want to respond to Islamist terrorism
originating in Pakistan by reasserting the secularity of the Indian
state have steadily been losing power to Hindu religious nationalists
of India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 'Muslims are cancer to this
country', BJP leader Bal Thackeray said in a speech quoted in a recent
issue of The New Yorker; 'Cancer is an incurable disease. Its only
cure is operation. O Hindus, take weapons in your hands and remove
this cancer from the roots'. ' (Larissa MacFarq1uhar, "Letter from
India. The Strongman", The New Yorker, 26 May 2003, pp. 50-57)."

Jack Miles of course did not check, or did not honestly cite, the
facts; Bal Thackeray is not a leader of the BJP. Nor is he associated
with RSS.

Has Jack Miles checked out the figures of fatalities of terror attacks
in the Northeast and in Jammu and Kashmir, caused principally by
christist and Islamist terrorists?

If RSS, an independence movement is categorized as a 'New Religious
Movement', shouldn’t the almost-as new George Washington and his band
who desired to create 'One nation under God' also get categorized as
'New Religious Movement' under the Mark Jurgensmeyer's mythical theme
of metaphysical transforming into physical? What about the Daughters
of the American Revolution? By Mark Jurgensmeyer's definition,
shouldn’t Protestant movement also get categorized as a 'New
Religious Movement'?

RAND appears to be incapable of distinguishing between the Al Qaeda,
out to create a global Caliphate of one religion, from Israeli
movements created in self-defence against terrorists who would not
hesitate to kill even innocent children.

In the face of sustained terror attacks by intolerant Islamists
governed by only hatred as their credo, two democracies, Israel and
India have repulsed the terror attacks despite repeated casualties
suffered by them. Israeli movements to defend their land and the
Indian attempts to counter the terror attacks have been remarkably
restrained, facts which should also have been noted by the RAND
'intelligence analysts and religious experts'.

RAND should ask the 'intelligence analysts and religious experts' to
substantiate these bland statements by evidence.

Some questions which need to be asked and answered by these analysts
and experts are:

-- Were these experts named the only participants in the 'day-long
workshops'? What are the days when the workshops were conducted?
-- Were there any other participants?
-- Does the report represent the consensus conclusions and
recommendations of the workshop?
-- Were there any dissenting opinions?
-- Did the participants submit any written papers? (We have read
through the report again and have noted the bibliographical references
to books and monographs of earlier years appended to the report after
end notes). Were any other evidences and databases used for the
serious conclusions drawn in the report? It is important that all the
papers be made available so that the evidence used to reach the
conclusions of the report can be evaluated. Hopefully, CIA which has
funded the RAND project will seek answers to these questions.

Does RAND Allow Data to Affect It’s Conclusions?

In the face of terror emanating from Pakistan and Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia, it is indeed surprising that RAND tries to invent phantoms of
'New Religious Movements' based on a wacko thesis of 'cosmic wars' and
exits to Brahman and Nirvana. There is no iota of evidence produced by
Greg Treverton's reporting of conversations, to show that the
proponents of Brahman and Nirvana have contributed to the acts of
terror.

Have the fatalities of terror caused by religious conflicts in all
parts of the globe, been taken into account, for example, in just one
country:

1994-2005: Jammu and Kashmir (Islamist violence): 31782 Northeast
(christist violence): 13933 Naxal violence: 5041 Punjab: 175 Others: 6
Total: 50937

Note: Are Naxals (Communist gangs) considered a cult or an NRM? RAND
should answer this question.

US policy makers should take a fresh look at the problem in the
context of the "objective compilation from reports by credible human
rights groups of the genocide, ethnic cleansing, terrorism, and
Islamist laws that Hindus have faced in parts of South Asia where they
are minorities." Source: HAF "The human rights violations that are
occurring against Hindus must no longer be ignored without
reprobation," said Rep. Ros-Lehtinen after reviewing the HAF report.
"Hindus have a history of being peaceful, pluralistic and
understanding of other faiths and peoples, yet minority Hindus have
endured decades of pain and suffering without the attention of the
world." See HAF Release. RAND experts should review and evaluate the
190 attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh from January 1, 2004 to November
30, 2004 detailed in the Appendix of the Hindu Human Rights report
2004: (page 38). RAND experts should also explain the cosmic war
category which will explain these atrocities in Bangladesh against a
minority community called the Hindu in that state.

Are the experts of the workshop conducted by RAND aware that there are
a billion people in India? And, have they computed the numbers of
fatalities caused by 'religious conflicts' worldwide and seen the
fatalities of 50,937 in the last 11 years in India? Have the group
studied the Terrorism Whitepaper brought out by Govt. of India in
2002? Or, reviewed the conflicts detailed in South Asia Terrorism
Portal?

In Buddha nirvana country, Thailand,

"a current wave of jihadi terrorist violence in the three Muslim
majority southern provinces, which started in January last year, has
already cost over 800 lives of Government servants, innocent civilians
and suspected Muslim militants. This is directly linked with the
presence of nearly a thousand Pattanis (that is, muslims of Thailand
so called in Pakistan and Bangladesh) in Pakistan madarasas.” Source:
SAAG.org (15 August 2005).

There is no evidence in the Report on the conflicts resulting from
'conversion' activities by Christian groups. 'Conversions' categorized
as 'propagation of the Gospel', 'baptizing all nations',
'proselytization', 'evangelisation' followed by threat of
'condemnation' of those who do not so spread the Gospel or the
salvific nature of Jesus. Such an exclusion of a whole range of
conflicts which resulted in the phenomenon of East Timor, certainly
draws critical questions on objectivity of the RAND report.

Without an analysis of the impact of 'religious conflicts', the RAND
report reads like a kindergarten account. Some remedial steps are
called for by naming the culprit experts and releasing their 'papers'
presented at the workshop and subjecting those 'papers' to critical,
peer reviews. After all, we are dealing with a serious issue of
homeland security and there can be no compromise with half-baked,
opinionated reports based on absurd, unfalsifiable, ridiculous cosmic
fantasies.

Conclusions

RAND should seriously review the 'scholarly' or 'expert' nature of the
Report in question and examine if it is consistent with RAND’s vision,
aspirations, and advertised credentials and standards.

It is, indeed, shocking that RAND has recommend appeasement of the
Islamist terrorists.

This report clearly shows RAND to be peddling a narrow, bigoted
religious agenda. That this is purported to be a preview of United
States Government policy in the future is indeed scary for those who
believe in the Constitution of the United States.

The ludicrous nature of the report poses serious questions about
RAND’s quality controls, especially since the principal author is
cited as being a “Professor” at RAND’s “university”.

So it is, RAND has become the New Religious Media.

Dr S Kalyanaraman

[1] Gregory F. Treverton, Heather S. Gregg, Daniel Gibran, Charles W.
Yost, Principal author, Gregory F Treverton, 2005, Exploring Religious
Conflicts, RAND Corporation, USA http://www.rand.org/publications/CF/CF211/index.html

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http://www.ivarta.com/columns/OL_050823.htm

Aryan Tourist Theory (TM)
By: Dr. S. Kalyanaraman
December 24, 2005

Views expressed here are author’s own and not of this website. Full
disclaimer is at the bottom.

The title of this article is borrowed from Rajeev Srinivasan’s
trademark ATT (Aryan Tourist Theory) as a counter to the Aryan Influx
(Invasion) Theory being promoted by indologist creationists who
believe in the creation of the universe in 4004 BC, following the
Biblical tradition.

Close on the heels of this report published on December 20, 2005, on
IVarta.com Harvard's scandal & Hindu conspiracy the renowned
newsmagazine, The Economist of London, has been recruited as of
December 21, 2005, as a co-conspirator in this global Hindu
conspiracy.

The title of the cover story is: The long march of everyman.

Since the information is premium content, only excerpts can be
provided. Coded contents using DNA/Genetic code words and the cypher
will be revealed only to privileged clients such as the Harvard
University group led by Witzel.

The scoop is that Rajeev Srinivasan has trademarked a new version of
AIT and calls it "Aryan Tourist Theory". Congratulations to Rajeev on
this invention which could have far-reaching implications for bringing
the Harvard international scandal to the desired outcome. Romila
Thapar, Michael Witzel have to contend with discovery of tourist visas
used by 'Aryans' as they influxed into Bharatam.

Since the prestige of Harvard University is at stake, new methods have
to be evolved to perpetuate the possibility of Aryan tourist entry
into India in 1500 BCE. One method being contemplated, informed
sources report, is to say that this is another hindutva plot to
humiliate the prestigious Harvard University which alone has the right
to teach Hindu children a lesson. A larger task lies ahead of the
Harvard group led by Witzel: to educate the international community of
parents on what hindutva means. (Hindu conspirators claim that this
means the essence of being hindu in dharma-dhamma-veda-bauddha-jaina
continuum of bharatiya tradition; clearly a tough continuum to contend
with in sixth grade classrooms). Yet the job has to be done; the
prestige of Harvard University is on the line.

Fwd. with thanks, a precise note from Rajeev Srinivasan (Dec. 20,
2005).

[quote]

I'm afraid this link is premium content, but it clearly states that
the evidence from genetics precludes an 'aryan' invasion of India in
1500 BCE. the first human migration to India is around 60,000 years
ago, and europe was populated much later.

however, there are elements of 'conquest' still in the theories about
India, see end of the excerpts below about female and male dna. this
sounds like 'aryan tourist theory' (trademarked by me) warmed over,
and I am sceptical about it. southerners ki jai :-)

TM 'aryan tourist theory': white guys go live in other countries on
tourist visas, marry local women and settle down. thus their genes
appear in the local population.

http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_VNJJNDJ

excerpts only, to protect the economist's copyright. it has a great
chart too.

Detail, however is not the same as consensus, and there are two
schools of thought about how people left Africa in the first place.
Appropriately, some of their main protagonists are at the rival
English universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The Oxford school,
championed by Stephen Oppenheimer, believes that the descendants of a
single emigration some 85,000 years ago, across the strait of Bab el
Mandeb at the southern end of the Red Sea, are responsible for
populating the rest of the world. The Cambridge school, championed by
Robert Foley and Marta Mirazón Lahr, agrees that there was, indeed, a
migration across this strait, though probably nearer to 60,000 years
ago. However, it argues that many non-Africans are the descendants of
at least one subsequent exodus.

Both schools agree that the Bab el Mandebites spread rapidly along the
coast of southern Arabia and thence along the south coast of Asia to
Australia, though Dr Oppenheimer has them turning inland, too, once
they crossed the strait of Hormuz. But it is in describing what
happened next that the two versions really part company, for it is
here that the descendants of the Oxford migration run into the
eruption of Toba.

That Toba devastated South and South-East Asia is not in doubt. Thick
layers of ash from the eruption have been found as far afield as
northern Pakistan. The question is whether there were people in Asia
at the time. One of the most important pieces of evidence for Dr
Oppenheimer's version of events is some stone tools in the ash layer
in Malaysia, which he thinks were made by Homo sapiens. Molecular
clocks have a regrettable margin of error, but radioactive dating is a
lot more accurate. If he is right, modern humans must have left Africa
before the eruption. The tools might, however, have been crafted by an
earlier species of human that lived there before Homo sapiens. For Dr
Oppenheimer, the eruption was a crucial event, dividing the nascent
human population of Asia into two disconnected parts, which then
recolonised the intermediate ground. In the Cambridge version, Homo
sapiens was still confined to Africa 74,000 years ago, and would
merely have suffered the equivalent of a nuclear winter, not an ash-
fall of up to five metres—though Dr Ambrose and his colleagues think
even that would have done the population no good. The Cambridge
version is far more gentle. The descendants of its subsequent exodus
expanded north-eastwards into central Asia, and thence scattered
north, south, east and west—though in a spirit of open-mindedness,
Sacha Jones, a research student in Dr Foley's department, is looking
in the ash layer in India to see what she can find there.

Both also agree that Europe received two waves of migration. The
ancestors of the bulk of modern Europeans came via central Asia about
35,000 years ago, though some people in the Balkans and other parts of
southern Europe trace their lines back to an earlier migration from
the Middle East. But the spread of agriculture from its Middle Eastern
cradle into the farthest reaches of Europe does not, as some
researchers once thought, seem to have been accompanied by a mass
movement of Middle Eastern farmers.

The coming together of two groups of humans can be seen in modern
India, too. In the south of the subcontinent, people have Y-
chromosomes derived almost exclusively from what the Cambridge school
would interpret as being northern folk (and the Oxford school as the
western survivors of Toba). However, more than 20% of their
mitochondria arrived in Asia with the first migration from Africa (or,
according to taste, clung on along the south-eastern fringes of the
ash plume).

That discovery speaks volumes about what happened when the two groups
met. It suggests that many modern south Indians are descended from
southern-fringe women, but few from southern-fringe men—implying a
comprehensive conquest of the southerners by the northerners, who won
extra southern wives.
[unquote]

Another co-conspirator has emerged surprisingly from down-under.

Now for the breath-taking ice age footsteps. This is the decisive blow
to the creationist indologists who believe in AIT (Aryan Influx
Theory) because the universe according to the Bible was created only
in 4004 BC. Any evidence prior to this date is a scientific hoax if
the indologists are to be believed. When will the indologists learn to
respect science?

See the photo at http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/ap/syd80112220055.hmedium.jpg

In this photo released by the Environment Ministry, a footprint
believed to be that of a man is shown in the Willandra Lakes district
in western New South Wales of Australia. Michael Amendolia / AP “The
prints were made in moist clay near the Willandra Lakes 19,000 to
23,000 years ago, the newspaper reported ahead of archeologists'
report on the find to be published in the Journal of Human Evolution.”

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10566347/

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman

The author is Director, Sarasvati Research Centre. Email:
kaly...@gmail.com

http://www.ivarta.com/columns/OL_051224.htm

Indian scholar deciphers Indus scriptAuthor
Indian

Date Created
19 Jan 2006

Date Edited19 Jan 2006 08:09:31 PMRatingCurrent rating: 6LicenseThis
work is in the public domain. 1/16/2006 7:28:44 AM HK Correspondent

CHENNAI: The Indus valley script, an enigma for scholars for over 130
years, has been deciphered by Dr S Kalyanaraman, a Chennai based
scholar. Ever since the first Indus seal with script was discovered in
1870 by Alexander Cunningham, efforts were on to decipher the
script."The decipherment of the script is central to unraveling the
true chronology and history of Indian civilization and culture," Dr
Kalyanaraman told Haindava Keralam.

Dr Kalyanaraman, a former senior executive with the Asian Development
Bank at Manila quit his job to devote full time for the research on
Inter-linking of Indian rivers and deciphering the script of the Indus
seal. Over the last 26 years, Dr Kalyanaraman has compiled a multi-
lingual comparative dictionary for over 25 ancient Indian languages
with about half-a-million words and has put it up on the internet.

It was a journey in a Pakistan International Airlines flight which
made Dr Kalyanaraman to quit his high paying ADB job. "I was presented
with replicas of two seals, really paper-weights, by the PIA sincve I
was travelkling by the first class on that day," said Dr Kalyanaraman.
Curiosity forced Dr Kalyanaraman to ask the PIA staff about the
replicas. He was literally shocked by the reply gioven by them. "They
said that the seals were from Mohenjodaro and it established the 5,000-
year old history of the civilization of Pakistan. They kept silent
when I pointed out to them that ther was no Pakistan at that time," Dr
Kalyanaraman explained.

"About 5000 years ago, there was only Bharat mentioned in the Rigveda.
Visvamitra, a Rigveda rishi, refers to the people of Bharat as
Bharatam Janam (that is, people of the nation of Bharata),"pointed out
Dr Kalyanaraman, author of a major book "Saraswathi".

He pointed out that the word Bharatiyo in Gujarati means 'caster of
metals' and goes on to present an array of evidence from about 4000
epigraphs on a variety of objects from what he calls "Sarasvati
Civilization". The epigraphs appear on seals, tablets, potsherds,
ivory rods, copper plates, even on metallic weapons.

The breakthrough in confirming his decipherment has come from two
sources: 1. the presence of Sarasvati hieroglyphs on two pure tin
ingots discovered in a ship-wreck in Haifa, Israel; and the presence
of Sarasvati hieroglyphs on artefacts in archaeological sites of
Jiroft (Iran) and Adichanallur (Tirunelveli, South India).

According to Dr Kalyanaraman, the glyphs are pictorials connoting
homonyms (similar sounding words which could be depicted pictorially)
of metals, minerals, alloys and furnaces. "For example, a jar with a
rim, an antelope, an elephant, a rhinoceros, a heifer (bull-calf) can
be depicted pictorially. The words related to these glyphs are
homonymous with words for varieties of minerals, metals, alloys and
furnaces," Dr Kalyanaraman explained.

Dr Kalyanaraman, claims that the code of the script or writing system
has been decoded simply as representation of the repertoire of smiths,
smithy, mines, and metal workshops. The artefacts are gathered from
many sites; there are about 2,000 archaeological sites on the banks of
a desiccated River Sarasvati (representing about 80% of the 2600 total
archaeological sites of the civilization dated to between 3500 to 1900
Before Common Era, BCE).

Some of the sites are: Rakhigarhi (near Delhi), Kunal, Kalibangan,
Banawali, Ropar (near Kurukshetra, Chandigarh), Dholavira, Lothal,
Surkotada, Prabhas Patan, Dwaraka (Gujarat) and of course,
Mohenjodaro, Harappa (Pakistan), Mehergarh (Afghanistan). A woman's
burial found at Mehergarh contained ornaments including a wide bangle
made of s'ankha; the surprise was that this burial was dated to 6500
BCE. The s'ankha industry continues even today in Tiruchendur, near
Gulf of Mannar, South Indian coastline where West Bengal handicraft
corporation obtains s'ankha to make bangles which are a must for every
Bengali bride to wear during marriage. A remarkable continuity of
culture and an industry unbroken for the last 8500 years !

He quotes profusely from the great Indian epics to substantiate his
claims. "The language of the epigraphs is said to be mleccha (Meluhha,
mentioned in cuneiform records of Mesopotamia). Vatsyayana refers to
cipher writing as mlecchita-vikalpa ( alternative representation by
copper workers)," according to Dr Kalyanaraman.

Mleccha is also referred to as a spoken language in Mahabharata;
Yudhishthira and Vidura converse in Mleccha about the shellac palace
(lakshagriha) constructed to trap the Pandavas with metallic and non-
metallic killer devices. An example of mleccha is 'helava, helava'
comparable to the 'elo,elo' boatmen's song by seafaring and river-
faring navigators who navigate hugging the coastline and along rivers
which were the highways of ancient times, enabling long-distance trade
over very long distances exceeding 3,000 kms., making the Sarasvati
civilization the most extensive civilization of its times.

"Languages of present-day India can be explained from a common source
and the theory is called 'Proto-Vedic Continuity Theory', "says Dr
Kalyanaraman.

These claims could have a significant effect on the study of languages
and contribute to historical studies emphasizing the essential
continuity and unity of Indian civilization and culture as a continuum
from 6500 BCE to the present-day.

haindavakeralam.org/PageModule.aspx

See also: spaces.msn.com/members/sarasvati97
protovedic.blogspot.com (S.Kalyanaraman and Mayuresh Kelkar)
www.hindunet.org/saraswati

kalyan97-AT-gmail.com
haindavakeralam.org/PageModule.aspx

PS: svastika is satthiya in Punjabi; rebus zasta, satthiya
'zinc' (Hindi)

TEHRAN, July 12 (MNA) -- The discovery of a number of shards bearing a
swastika motif astonished a team of Iranian archaeologists working at
Sabz Tepe in the Elamite site of Arjan, Khuzestan Province, the
director of the team said on Tuesday.

"Our team found the shards during operations conducted to save the
site from being destroyed by farming activities," Mahnaz Sharifi
added.

Located 10 kilometers north of Behbahan in eastern Khuzestan Province,
Arjan contains many ancient mounds which are believed to be various
sections of an Elamite city.

"Farmers plow the ground in Arjan, destroying the ancient site. A
cluster of shards bearing unique motifs and inscriptions can be seen
scattered on the ground," Behbahan Cultural Heritage and Tourism
Office expert Farzad Mesbah said.

Agricultural officials of Behbahan gave the land to the farmers.

"The farmers have said that they will continue working on the land,
but Khuzestan cultural officials have filed a lawsuit against the
farmers, in an attempt to solve the problem through the judicial
process," said Saeid Mohammadpur, an official of the Khuzestan
Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department.

In 1983, the first bronze coffin ever found in Iran, was discovered in
Arjan. The U-shaped coffin contained a large inscribed golden ring, 98
bracteate coins, a dagger, some textile fragments, and a
silver rod, which came from the treasury of the Elamite king Kidin-
Hutran.

Archaeologists plan to conduct additional research on the newly
discovered shards in order to learn why the swastika motif was used.

The origin of the swastika symbol is unknown. For thousands of years,
it has been used as a symbol of the revolving sun, fire, infinity, or
continuing recreation, as well as a decorative motif in the Americas,
China, Egypt, Greece, and Scandinavia. Swastikas have been found in
the catacombs of Rome, on textiles of the Inca period, and on relics
unearthed at the site of Troy. The swastika has also been important in
Eastern religions; to Buddhists, it represents resignation; to Jains,
it represents their seventh saint; and to Hindus, a swastika with arms
bent to the left represents night, magic, and the
destructive goddess Kali.

In the mid-20th century in Germany, a swastika with arms bent to the
right became the symbol of the Nazi Party. Some members of the German
Free Corps, who later formed the nucleus of the early Nazi Party, are
believed to have brought the swastika to Germany from Finland and
Estonia, where it had been an official and decorative emblem.

From March 1933, a few weeks after the ascent of Adolf Hitler to power
in Germany, the swastika flag flew side by side with the German
national colors. From September 1935 until the downfall of the Nazi
regime in 1945, the swastika flag was the official flag of the Third
Reich and was prominently displayed. The swastika is still used as a
symbol by supremacist and separatist hate groups.

www.mehrnews.ir/en/Archive.aspx

http://baltimore.indymedia.org/newswire/display/11807/index.php

Ancient Indian History, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India,
Indian History

Placeholder for Saraswati-Sindhu script
5 July 2009 87

This is a placeholder post for various references and resources
related to Saraswati-Sindhu Script.

Dr Kalyanaraman-ji’s work:

http://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97/mlecchitavikalpa

http://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97/indus-script

http://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97/a-new-decipherment-paradigm

http://sarasvati97.blogspot.com/

Varnam’s posts and research:

http://varnam.org/blog/2009/05/undeciphered-scripts/

http://varnam.org/blog/2009/04/indus-script-a-formal-language/

http://varnam.org/blog/2009/05/hostile-reactions/

http://varnam.org/blog/2009/05/indian-history-carnival-17/

Asko Parpola’s works:

http://www.helsinki.fi/~aparpola/

Please feel free to add any other links (to articles/documents) that
you may be aware of – using the comments form below.

Thanks.

Related Post: Breaking the code: the Sarasvati-Sindhu Script

*** UPDATE ***

I am traveling until the 10th of July with very limited internet
access. There will be some delay before I am able to respond to (and
moderate) comments.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

***

Pl. note that if you do not enter your email address while leaving a
comment, it is very likely to get stuck in the moderation/spam queue.

To avoid this, pl. enter a valid email address OR use this email
address instead: satyacomment AT gmail.com

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. 14 Comments »
1. B Shantanu said:
Some of you will find this interesting:

Can Computers Decipher a 5,000-Year-Old Language? by David Zax
.20 July 2009

2. B Shantanu said:
In a paper which renders the issue of ‘illiteracy’ moot or of little
practical value, Kalyanaraman has claimed that the script was used for
smith guild tokens encoding speech repertoire of smiths and that the
legacy of the writing system continued in mints which issued punch-
marked coins during the historical periods using Indus script glyphs.
The paper also reiterates that the critique of Massimo Vidale has not
so far been answered by the ‘Harappan illiteracy’ proponents.

The paper can also be downloaded from here
.5 August 2009

3. B Shantanu (author) said:
Some more research from Dr Kalyanaraman:

Decoding Indus Script – Mleccha, mlecchita vikalpa in Sarasvati
hieroglyphs

Monograph

Ppt slides

Abstract of Lecture at Rojah Muthiah Library at 5 PM on 26 February
2009 by S. Kalyanaraman

Script is decoded as sarasvati hieroglyphs composed of all pictorial
motifs — over 100 — and signs — over 400 – and read rebus in mleccha
vācas (as distinct from arya vācas — Manu). The context is: miners’
and smiths’ repertoire (not unlike the viśwakarma working on utsava
bera in Swamimalai following the cire perdue technique of Sarasvati
civilization bronzes or asur/agaria working in iron ore smelters in
Ganga basin of 18th century BCE).

Sarasvati hieroglyphs are in mleccha, mlecchita vikalpa (Vatsyayana).
Hypothesis posited: Language X + Proto-Munda = Proto-mleccha (with
borrowings in Sarasvati Linguistic Area).
Rebus readings of almost all glyphs (pictorial motifs as well as
signs) relate to mine workers’ and metalsmiths’ repertoire. The
writing system is a vikalpa (alternative representation) of their
vernacular, mleccha, cognate: meluhha. Presented in 15 e-books at
http://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97

In view of the essentially pictographic nature of the writing system,
the presentation is made in three parts:

a. monograph on vernacular (deśī), the linguistic area and the
continuity of proto-mleccha vernacular; structure and semantics of
hieroglyphs of mlecchita vikalpa, the decoded writing system;
b. powerpoint slides with selected glyphs and readings; and
c. Epigraphica Sarasvati of about 4000 inscribed epigraphs on photo
albums. http://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97/epigraphica-sarasvati

Two fundamental questions should be researched further:

1. the continuity of the civilization evidenced by cultural markers
all over India and the neighbouring regions;
2. the formation and evolution of languages in a linguistic area of
the Sarasvati civilization continuum in India, proved by the decoding
of the Indus script (Sarasvati hieroglyphs).

***

Separately from a blog post by Jayasree :

…This finding makes me recall some instances from the past. One is
from Valmiki Ramayana wherein Hanuman debates within himself on what
language he could speak to Sita who was languishing in the Ashoka
vana. Should I speak in the language of the learned persons (in
Sanskrit) or speak in the language of common persons, Hanuman asked
himself.

Sanskrit was the language of education and was used in discourses on
intellectual stuff. This existed in written form. But the dialect
spoken by people was different and it was not given a written form. We
come to know from Megasthanes that transactions were done orally.
There was no habit of recording or writing anything in trade. It was
because people adhered to word of mouth and rarely indulged in
cheating. Wherever writing was done it was done in Sanskrit. But the
common dialect that people spoke was not given a written form.

This had existed till the times of onset of Jain and Buddha culture.
The Jains were the forerunners in giving written form to spoken
language of the commoner. In a scenario dominated by Sanskrit based
Vedic religion, the Jains wanted to reach out to the common man. They
could reach him easily only by speaking his language and making him
read their views in the language they speak.

The earliest books written in language other than Sanskrit were by
Jains. They were in Prakrith. The earliest Jain book of astrology is
‘Surya Pragnapti’ which was an adaptation of Lagadha’s Rig Jyothisha.
This was in ‘Arthamagadhi Prakrith’. Lagadha’s Jyothisha was written
when the sun entered Dhanishta in uttarayana. Jain’s Surya pragnapthi
has the sun entering Abhijit in uttarayana!

That means this book of the Jains was written when Abhijith was still
part of the sky. Abhijit is placed in between Utthradam and ThiruvONam
(shravaNa). Abhijit was part of the sky until Mahabharatha times. Even
if we want to discount the existence of abhijith for lack of evidence
now astronomically, we can still enumerate the period of this book.
This book was written when the sun entered uttarayana at a point left
of Shravana star. Today the sun enters uttarayana in Moola star. The
time gap can be ascertained and it is possible to find the time of
Surya pragnapti from this. That time is when the spoken language of
the people of most of Bharatham was given a written form.
From Prakrit, other Indian languages sprang with a written libi.

But Tamil was a case apart from all these.
When Mahabharatha war happened, Tamil was already there in written
form supported by the sophistry of a well developed Grammar. A verse
on the praise of the Cheran king who supplied food to the armies
engaged in Mahabharatha war is found in PurananUru. Another verse is
about the Pandyan king who lived in the now- submerged landmass, south
of present day Kanyakumari. Tamil was referred to as “Agastheeyam” in
one of Srivaishnava books (Acharya Hrudhayam) Agastheeyam is said to
be a grammar work of Tamil done by sage Agasthya. This sage is also
said to have given a written form to Tamil.

That means Tamil had once existed as a spoken language among the
masses. There are however many Sanskrit terms in Tamil (eg daanam,
thavam) as part and parcel of Tamil language itself. Unless Tamil had
co-existed along with Sanskrit, this can not have happened. The aiding
tool for this combination is Hindu dharma or Sanatana Dharma as it was
the only dharma prevalent everywhere in those days. Since the Tamil
lands were stretched far down the South and were part of a huge
landmass connecting Africa and Australia, my guess is that Tamil was a
spoken language in that part of the world.

Coming to the findings of Dr S.Kalyanaraman, he has pointed out an
interesting similarity in the writing on metallurgy and of artisans of
India in those days. The cast for making statues (utsava bhEra)
recovered from Harappan sites (Saraswathy sites) are the same as what
the Vishwakarmas settled near Swamimalai in Tamil nadu do today! It
was because there was a single cult of Vishwakarma, a single cult of
Maya followed by artisans all through the Ithihasic and Puranic times.

As such, these informations are not news to me! Without even going
into research of this kind, we can say everything about the antiquity
and unanimity of Bharatheeya culture just from our arm chairs with the
help of Ithihasas, Puranas, Samhitas and a host of other texts given
by Maharishis.
.14 August 2009

4. K. Harapriya said:
“Since Tamil lands stretched far down south and were a part of a huge
landmass connecting Africa and Australia”

This statement is an anachronism. The continental drift that split the
various land masses from the one large continent called pangea
happened some 400 million years ago.

India split from the southern portion of what is now Africa around 55
million years ago. (This is known by the dating of the Himalayas).

However , man , as a species separate from other primates has only
existed on this earth around one million years. Of this, civilization
existed only for the last 10,000 years. So the contention that Tamil
was a language spoken in the entire southern hemisphere is inaccurate
to say the least.

Secondly, Tamil’s borrowings from Sanskrit as evidence of them
coexisting at the same time and/or originating at the same time. That
is like saying English originated at the same time as Latin since
there are so many latin terms in it. One interesting note is that
while Tamil has many sanskrit words, the reverse is not true–we do not
find Tamil words in Sanskrit very often.

Let us look at what the facts tell us. The oldest literature in Tamil
(of the Sangam period) dates back two thousand years–approximately the
beginning of the common era (exact dates betw. 3rd Century BCE and 3rd
Century A.D). Since the language was highly developed, it is assumed
that it had a longer history.

In comparison, the Rg Veda originates, even when conservatively dated,
1500 BCE. Even by conservative estimates, that is at least a 1000
years before the appearance of Tamil literature. Since the literature
of the Vedas is also highly developed we have to assume an older
history for the language. If we use the internal evidence of the Rg
Veda (i.e cosmology, astromical positions of stars), the Rg Veda can
even be dated anywhere from 5000 to 10,000 years old (depending on the
scholar).

It is almost a truism accepted in India that Tamil is the oldest
language. But is it really true?

Here is an article on the dating of the Mahabharata War by a fairly
respected scholar.
http://www.ece.lsu.edu/kak/MahabharataII.pdf
.19 August 2009

5. gajanan said:
Markov model of the Indus script

Rajesh P. N. Raoa,1, Nisha Yadavb,c, Mayank N. Vahiab,c, Hrishikesh
Joglekard, R. Adhikarie, and Iravatham Mahadevanf
aDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, University of
Washington, Seattle, WA 98195; bDepartment of Astronomy and
Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 400005,
India; cCentre for Excellence in Basic Sciences, Mumbai 400098, India;
d14, Dhus Wadi, Laxminiketan, Thakurdwar, Mumbai 400002, India;
eInstitute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai 600113, India; and fIndus
Research Centre, Roja Muthiah Research Library,
Chennai 600113, India

Abstract.

Although no historical information exists about the Indus civilization
(flourished ca. 2600–1900 B.C.), archaeologists have uncovered about
3,800 short samples of a script that was used throughout the
civilization. The script remains undeciphered, despite a large number
of attempts and claimed decipherments over the past 80 years. Here, we
propose the use of probabilistic models to analyze the structure of
the Indus script. The goal is to reveal,
through probabilistic analysis, syntactic patterns that could point
the way to eventual decipherment. We illustrate the approach using a
simple Markov chain model to capture sequential dependencies between
signs in the Indus script. The trained model allows new sample texts
to be generated, revealing recurring patterns of signs that could
potentially form functional subunits of a possible
underlying language. The model also provides a quantitative way of
testing whether a particular string belongs to the putative language
as captured by the Markov model. Application of this test to Indus
seals found in Mesopotamia and other sites in West Asia reveals that
the script may have been used to express different content in these
regions or unreadable signs on damaged objects can be filled in with
most likely predictions from the model. Taken together, our results
indicate that the Indus script exhibits rich synactic structure and
the ability to represent diverse content. both of which are suggestive
of a linguistic writing system rather than a nonlinguistic symbol
system.

Published in Proceedings in National Academy of Sciences 2009. USA.
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0906237106

This is very good science, if you can go thru this site above. It is
very difficult to understand for those not conversant with Markov
maths. They recently published in the journal Science and some more is
probably in the offing.
.19 August 2009

6. B Shantanu (author) said:
Harapriya and Gajanan: Thanks for the links and comment.

Harapriya: Interesting question about Tamil. I don’t know. Perhaps
other readers would wish to comment?
.21 August 2009

7. K. Harapriya said:
Here is a good link on the latest archaeological findings.

http://www.archaeologyonline.net/
.22 August 2009

8. B Shantanu (author) said:
Pl. read Varnam’s latest post The Markov Model of Indus Script
.14 September 2009

9. B Shantanu (author) said:
From an email sent by Dr Kalyanaraman:

Source: http://www.harappa.com/indus2/index.html Slide 142 reports the
discovery in 1998 of a four-sided molded tablet — ca. 2450-2200 BCE.

“Molded tablets from Trench 11 sometimes have impressions on one, two,
three or four sides. This group of molded tablets shows the complete
set of motifs. One side is comprised entirely of script and has six
(five?) characters, the first of which (on the very top) appears to be
some sort of animal. A second side shows a human figure grappling with
a short horned bull. A small plant with at least six branches is
discernible behind the individual. The third panel portrays a figure
seated on a charpoy or throne in a yogic position, with arms resting
on the knees. Both arms are covered with bangles, and traces of a
horned headdress and long hair are visible on some of the impressions.
A second individual, also with long hair and wearing bangles, is
seated on a short stool to the proper left of the individual on the
“throne.” The fourth panel shows a deity standing with both feet on
the ground and wearing a horned headdress. A branch with three pipal
leaves projects from the center of the headdress. Bangles seen on both
arms.”

This is decoded as a professional calling card of a smiths’ artisan
guild, as may be seen from the homonyms of all glyptic elements (both
signs and pictorial motifs) — presented on two slides.
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/11869632/Slide-142-harappa

Addendum: man.d.a ‘twig, branch’ (Te.); rebus: man.d.a_ ‘warehouse,
workshop’ (Kon.)

namaskaram. kalyanaraman
.25 September 2009

10. B Shantanu (author) said:
Those of you with an interest in this topic will enjoy Varnam’s
excellent post on this from last week: The Harappan Volumetric System
.7 December 2009

11. Shaan said:
@Harapriya, @Jayasree
There is no proof that Tamil lands would have stretched too much
southwards. Tamil literature talks about Kumari kandam and the
incident of it submerging in sea but it may have been a small area
beyond kanyakumari. Regarding Udhiyan Cheralathan there is an
explanation that the nootruvar(100 men) given in the poem are actually
Satavahanas. But Mahabharatha itself mentions that Pandyas, Cheras and
Cholas were fighting alongside Pandavas and against the Kauravas.

When it is debatable that whether Tamil as old as Sanskrit, atleast in
written form it must have been in written form before Sanksrit. There
is a term ‘ezhuthaa kiLavi’ in Tamil denoting Sanskrit. It literally
means ‘the language that is not written’. Earlier it was believed that
Tamil Brahmi was created after Ashoka era Brahmi script was introduced
in the South. But the latest discoveries point that Tamil Brahmi was
in existence even before Ashoka’s time.
.14 December 2009

12. I Gege Putrayasa said:
I found the sincere and trusted work on Indus-Sarasvati script
decipherment by Dr. Natwar Jha. Please follow the link below. I hope
that more scientists will continue and expand the work that had been
done by Dr. Jha as been shown by NS. Rajaram.

http://placelife.com/timeline/sarasvati-indus/sarasvati-script/natwarjhabyrajaram.html
.23 January 2010

13. I Gege Putrayasa said:
Forgot to include in my previous post. Here’s another link of Natwar
Jha and NS. Rajaram work on book reviewed by IndiaStar:

http://www.indiastar.com/wallia27.htm
.23 January 2010

14. B Shantanu (author) said:
Thank you. I will have a look at the links.
.24 January 2010

http://satyameva-jayate.org/2009/07/05/saraswati-sindhu-script/

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman using the Doe Library in University of California,
Berkeley (June 22, 1998); he acknowledges gratefully the use of
indological resources of this library, the Green Library in Stanford
University, Library of Congress, University of the Philippines Library
System, Manila, Adyar Library and Connemara Library, Chennai, National
Museum, Delhi, National Library, Calcutta and the British Library,
London, apart from the resources available on the web.

From Indology to Reviving City Waterways:
From "The Hindu" - 29-09-1997.

Despite his pre-occupation with high profile activities, Dr. S.
Kalyanaraman, former senior executive of the ADB, has varied interests
including matters mundane. He shares them with T. Ramakrishnan.

A paperweight may be a routine dull object for most people, but it can
trigger unexpected reactions among some: such as a deep desire to take
up Indological studies.

One such scholar eventually went on to do a unique work of writing a
multilingual dictionary of the Dravidian, Aryan and Mundarica language
families.

The author of the dictionary, Dr. S. Kalyanaraman (58), started on his
voyage of discovery in the office of his boss, Dr. Trujillo from the
U.S., while working in the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The
paperweight, given to him by the officer, was a brass replica of an
Indus seal depicting a short-horned bull and some Indus script as an
inscription.

In the meantime, an Indologist wrote a letter to Dr. Kalayanaraman
asking for comments on the former's decipherment of a script. The
paperweight and this letter led him to embark on studies on the
subject.

At present, he is working on the `mythical' Sarasvathi river which can
be revived by tapping groundwater resources and making the Thar desert
in Rajasthan bloom. His study is centered on providing leads for
resolving the decipherment problem of the Indus script.

Dr. Kalayanaraman has interest in a variety of subjects. A graduate in
economics and statistics from the Annamalai University, he became a
Member of the Indian Railway Accounts Service in 1962. He secured his
doctorate from the University of Philippines in 1982 and his Ph.D.
thesis was a comparative study of development administration in six
Asian countries.

In the '70s, the Indologist's performance on coal accounting for and
the drawing up the Railways' perspective plan for information
technology (IT) came in for praise and subsequently, he was deputed to
the ADB. Dr. Kalayanaraman helped establish the Bank's IT network with
2,500 workstations. He administered loan disbursements on a multi-
currency portfolio of equivalent US $60 billions on 600 development
projects in the Asia-Pacific region.

Despite his high-profile activities, the ADB's former senior executive
has not lost sight of the more "mundane" things. The beautification of
the city waterways is one of his pet subjects. "The waterways are, in
a way, a blessing for the city. Otherwise, the situation will be worse
when Chennai receives heavy rainfall."

His suggestion is that as a demonstration project, the Cooum can be
taken up first. The execution of its improvement should be split into
different segments, which can be entrusted to different contractors.

In addition to desludging the waterway, a series of checkdams can be
built along the Cooum for regulating the discharge of water. Tanks,
located on the outskirts of the city and functioning as sources for
the waterway, have to be renovated.

For improving the water supply network for the southern suburbs of
Chennai, Dr. Kalayanaraman says the aquifer of the Palar river can be
tapped. He wants the Government to act strongly against those who
pollute the river.

As the senior ADB executive, he had exposure to the Chinese system of
governance. "China has made rapid strides, particularly in the area of
local self-governance. It is not just because it's a communist country
but its rulers have immense faith in decentralisation".

One lesson that can be drawn from the Chinese, he says, is to grant
more powers to the Chennai Mayor. In Beijing, the Mayor is the focal
point of all activities and has the authority to mobilise resources
and personnel from various agencies and departments for improving the
state of affairs in the Metro.

The same thing is possible here as the 74th Constitutional amendment
has made it mandatory that the Metropolitan Planning Committee and
other local bodies falling within the Metro to take up responsibility
to prepare and implement urban development schemes. The existing
mechanism for utilising financial and personnel resources should also
undergo suitable changes.

Moreover, this amendment can be used for strengthening urban local
bodies and bringing about a revolutionary change in their functioning
and administration, Dr. Kalyanaraman feels.

As his presentation to mark the golden jubilee of Independence, Dr.
Kalyanaraman has created a website running to 2,500 pages of
information on India at www.investindia.com. As his social obligation,
he offers his Internet access at the domain address http://www.investindia.com
free of cost to the younger generation with the goal of preparing them
intellectually and academically.

See also the Sarasvati River Website: http://www.probys.com/sarasvati

Indian Alchemy: Soma in the Rigveda (in press, Delhi, Munshiram
Manoharlal)

His email: kaly...@netscape.net

http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/sarasvati/html/hindu29091997.html

Sanatana Dharma Foundation Honors Dr Subramanian Swamy and Dr S.
Kalyanaraman for their Courageous Effort in Protecting the Historic
Rama Sethu
Sanatana Dharma Foundation, Dallas, Texas organized its first Hindu
Unity Day, at the DFW Hindu Temple, in Dallas on the 19th and 20th of
July, 2008. Symbolizing Hindu Unity, Representatives of Dallas
Chapters of several organizations like the Art of living Foundation,
Ammachi Satsang, Hare Krishna ISCKON group, Gayatri Parivar,
Brahmakumaris, Carribbean Mandir, Chinmaya Mission, Hanuman Temple,
Sathya Sai groups, Datta Yoga Peetam and other prominent Hindu
personalities from the local Dallas-Fort Worth community in Texas,
were present at this unique event. Dr Subramanian Swamy's latest book
"Rama Sethu Symbol of National Unity" was released and distributed at
the Event, to key members of these organizations and other prominent
members of the community.

Rama Sethu Symbol of National Unity

Hindu Dharma Rakshaka Kshatriya Award

This award, a first of its kind, has been instituted to honor and
celebrate the 'Kshatriya Spirit', specifically the courage shown by
Hindus in taking risks and standing up to fight for the protection and
preservation of Dharma. The word Kshatriya is a Sanskrit word that
refers to the royal and noble class of Hindus who historically
defended their nation, and the Dharma of the land.

Rama Sethu Symbol of National Unity

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) July 26, 2008 -- Dr Subramanian Swamy, PhD,
visiting professor of Economics, Harvard University and former Union
Law Minister of India, and Dr S. Kalyanaraman, Director, Saraswati
River Research Center, and President of Sri Rameshwaram Rama Sethu
Raksha Manch, received awards in Dallas, Texas for their courageous
effort in protecting the historic Rama Sethu, from being destroyed by
the Government of India in the name of a development project.

NASA Photograph of Rama Sethu

Rama Sethu is the original Sanskrit name given to a bridge built by
the legendary King Rama, who crossed over to Sri Lanka from India to
fight the King of Lanka, Ravana, recover his wife Sita, and restore
Dharma (Order) in the land of India. While it is difficult to
establish the exact historical age of these events, the bridge is
thought to be at least 5000 years old, if not much older, making it
the oldest causeway built across an ocean channel. The Rama Sethu is
referred to in numerous ancient Sanskrit texts and scriptures, as a
man made structure, and in recent times, it has been vividly
photographed by both NASA and Indian Satellites.

When India fell under Colonial rule, the British renamed this
construction as "Adam's Bridge". The Government of India, in recent
years, has been trying to establish a Shipping Channel between India
and Sri Lanka, by breaking and destroying the continuity of this
ancient structure. Hindus in India and around the world have been
protesting and fighting this decision of the Government of India, and
have demanded that the Rama Sethu be declared a monument of historic
importance and a world heritage site. On May 8th, 2008, the Supreme
Court of India directed the Government of India to go back to the
drawing board to see if it can create an alternate shipping route, and
at the same time, study the Rama Sethu as a monument of historic
importance. It is yet to be seen if the Government of India will
comply with the Court's direction, and thereby uphold due
constitutional process, or continue on its path of destroying the Rama
Sethu, dis-regarding the Supreme court's direction.

Sanatana Dharma Foundation, (www.sdfglobal.org) a Dallas based Non-
Profit organization inspired by the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha,
(www.acharyasabha.org) the apex body of Hindus in India, presented the
"Hindu Dharma Rakshaka Kshatriya Award" to Dr Subramanian Swamy & Dr
S. Kalyanaraman on the occassion of the Hindu Unity Day organized at
the DFW Hindu Temple in Dallas, Texas on July 19, 2008. Speaking on
the occasion, the President of Sanatana Dharma Foundation, Kalyan
Viswanathan, said that "This award, a first of its kind, has been
instituted to honor and celebrate the 'Kshatriya Spirit', specifically
the courage shown by Hindus in taking risks and standing up to fight
for the protection and preservation of Dharma. The word Kshatriya is a
Sanskrit word that refers to the royal and noble class of Hindus who
historically defended their nation, and the Dharma of the land."

The Highlight of the Hindu Unity Day Event was the speech by Dr
Subramanian Swamy on his personal experiences during his defense of
Rama Sethu in the Supreme Court of India, which was greeted by a
spontaneous standing ovation. In presenting the "Hindu Dharma Rakshaka
Kshatriya" Award, his fearless defense in the Supreme Court of India,
getting a critical and timely stay order, the subsequent withdrawal of
the Government of India's petition, and the later Verdict of the
Supreme Court were all highlighted.

Dr S. Kalyanaraman made a scholarly presentation on the River
Saraswati, highlighting the recent research findings, the origins of
the Vedic civilization on the banks of River Saraswati and the fact
that it holds the central "Key" to the re-writing of the history of
India and re-establishing the real historicity of the Vedas. While
presenting the Award, his dedicated research in supporting the
struggle of the Rama Sethu, and his pioneering contributions in
researching and resurfacing the River Saraswati were lauded.

Symbolizing Hindu Unity, Representatives of Dallas Chapters of several
organizations like the Art of living Foundation, Ammachi Satsang, Hare
Krishna ISCKON group, Gayatri Parivar, Brahmakumaris, Carribbean
Mandir, Chinmaya Mission, Hanuman Temple, Sathya Sai groups and other
prominent Hindu personalities from the local Dallas-Fort Worth
community in Texas, were present at this unique event. Dr Subramanian
Swamy's latest book "Rama Sethu Symbol of National Unity" was released
and distributed at the Event, to key members of these organizations
and other prominent members of the community.

Smt. Ranna Jani, President, DFW Hindu Temple in Texas speaking on the
occassion on behalf of the Temple, thanked both Dr Subramaniam Swamy &
Dr S. Kalyanaraman for coming to Dallas and sharing their experiences
with the participants. On the second day, a workshop was organized,
where challenges facing Hinduism today, were discussed. Presentations
on the state of Hindu Temples in India, challenges posed by
Christianity and Islam were also discussed. The session was very
interactive, and educational, as per the feedback received.

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The challenge of terrorism
S. KALYANARAMAN

ON 23 December 1929, a bomb planted by Indian revolutionaries exploded
under the Viceroy’s special train but without causing any serious
injury to Lord Irwin. At the Lahore session of the Indian National
Congress held the very next week, Mahatma Gandhi pushed through a
resolution ‘condemning the cowardly deed of the misguided youth.’
Though he urged that the resolution be passed unanimously, a reluctant
Congress did so by a thin majority of 81 in a house numbering 1713.
Subsequently, Gandhi wrote an article in Young India titled ‘The Cult
of the Bomb’, in which he dismissed bomb-throwing as nothing but
‘froth coming to the surface in an agitated liquid.’ At the same time,
he warned that it is an ‘easy, natural step’ from violence done to the
foreign ruler ‘to violence to our own people whom we may consider to
be obstructing the country’s progress.’

To rebut Gandhi’s condemnation, Bhagawati Charan, in consultation with
Chandra Shekhar Azad, drafted a manifesto in 1930 titled ‘The
Philosophy of the Bomb’. Terrorism, the manifesto asserted, is a
‘necessary’ and ‘inevitable’ phase of the revolution. ‘Terrorism
instils fear in the hearts of the oppressors, it brings hopes of
revenge and redemption to the oppressed masses, it gives courage and
self-confidence to the wavering, it shatters the spell of the
superiority of the ruling class and raises the status of the subject
race in the eyes of the world, because it is the most convincing proof
of a nation’s hunger for freedom.’ The manifesto went on to note that
it is reason and conscience which force the revolutionary to ‘risk his
life’. And it concluded by proclaiming that the revolutionaries will
take ‘a people’s righteous revenge on the tyrant’ and that theirs is
‘a war to the end – to victory or death.’

This episode is indicative of the divide that exists between the idea
that terrorists are freedom fighters and martyrs, the characterisation
of terrorist attacks as cowardly and dastardly, and the in-between
view that while terrorism is indeed unjustifiable, the genuine
grievances that drive terrorists cannot also be overlooked. In
addition, the debate on terrorism has also thrown up the question of
‘state terrorism’. After all, the origins of the modern usage of the
word terrorism lie in the ‘state terror’ unleashed by the French
revolutionary regime to intimidate those opposed to the revolution or
otherwise sympathetic to or nostalgic about the ancien régime.
Moreover, states also deliberately target civilians and non-combatants
in the course of wars and internal conflicts.

Are we to therefore simply conclude that terrorism is a relative term
best defined as ‘violence that I don’t support?’ To chart a path
through the minefield that is the debate on defining terrorism and how
to address this phenomenon, one approach is to look at terrorism as a
strategy, a means to achieve an objective. A strategy adopted by a
political group in which civilians and non-combatants are deliberately
targeted to generate terror as well as to highlight the cause. The
objective is to undermine the foundations of the state, its
legitimacy, and its ability to command the people’s compliance.
Terrorist actions are conceived as either ends in themselves or
designed to be precursors to a mass uprising. Terrorism is thus a
subset of political violence.

Terrorism, however, needs to be distinguished from other forms of
political violence employed by armed rebel groups. This is
particularly the case with guerrilla warfare (or insurgency) with
which terrorism is often confused and conflated. True, guerrilla
warfare, like terrorism, is a weapon of the weak, employed precisely
because weakness precludes a rebel group from engaging in regular war
against organised state forces. Notwithstanding this surface
similarity, the two strategies proceed along very different paths.
Guerrillas (or insurgents) primarily target state forces, mobilise
people and acquire popular support, establish a parallel government in
‘liberated zones’, and over time seek to expand control over
surrounding territories and transform their ragtag forces into a
regular army. Guerrillas, in Mao’s famous formulation, are the fish
and people the water.

In contrast, the people have become the target of terrorist violence,
especially since the 1970s. Gandhi’s prophetic words about the ‘easy,
natural step’ from violence done to the oppressor to violence
inflicted on non-cooperative or unresponsive compatriots, have indeed
become a reality. The deliberate targeting of innocent civilians is a
hallmark particularly of the contemporary avatar of terrorism. This
was not the case in the historical practice of terrorism, which
largely involved targeting the symbols of political authority – heads
of state, viceroys and proconsuls, ministers, civilian and military
officials, leading political figures, among others. These attacks were
intended as ‘propaganda by deed’ in an era when terrorism was
considered the ultima ratio, the final resort. But the ‘new’ terrorism
does not discriminate in its choice of victims and its motto is,
‘there are no innocents.’

Further, while the earlier practice of terrorism was largely directed
against tyrannical or despotic regimes and colonial or imperial
authorities, democracies have emerged as principal targets of the
contemporary exercise in terrorism. Thus, from ultima ratio terrorism
seems to be becoming the prima ratio of political protest. Another
significant difference between ‘old’ and ‘new’ terrorism is state
support for and sponsorship of terrorist groups. While the earlier
breed of terrorists by and large operated on their own, the employment
of terrorism as an instrument of statecraft (a cost-effective means of
destabilising adversaries) is a key feature of latter-day terrorism.
Terrorism has acquired a pejorative connotation over the last few
decades precisely because of these changes.

There have been various hues of armed rebellion in India since
independence. Telangana and Naxalbari were insurrections. The Maoist
groups operating across many states are engaged in a classic
insurgency. Most armed political groups in the North East also began
as separatist or autonomist insurgencies. But, over the years, some
have become mere extortion rackets, while others like the United
Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) in particular have taken to terrorism.
Terrorism, the deliberate targeting of civilians, was first practised
by separatist groups in Punjab. In the 1990s, this practice also
became prevalent as part of the separatist struggle in Jammu and
Kashmir. The involvement of Pakistani and transnational groups in the
so-called jihad in Kashmir has contributed to the further expansion of
the terror campaign to the hinterland.

The most significant terrorist group in the North East today is ULFA.
Founded in 1979 with the aim of establishing a ‘sovereign socialist
Assam through armed struggle’, it built up its armed strength and ran
a parallel government in Assam in the latter half of the 1980s. When
it initiated armed action in the 1990s, targets were limited to the
security forces, railway lines, the oil pipeline, and political
opponents. However, after the group was expelled from Bhutan in 2003
and it relocated its base areas in Bangladesh, ULFA has initiated a
terror campaign inside Assam. Most targets struck since then have been
civilian.

The August 2004 bombing in Dhemaji town, which killed 17 people,
mostly children, has come to be seen as the turning point in this
regard. 73 bomb explosions were triggered in 2005, 59 in 2006, 54 in
2007, and 10 in 2008 – all in public places. ULFA has also been
targeting Hindi-speaking migrant labourers over the last couple of
years. Its turn towards terrorism seems to have coincided with its
linkages and dependence upon the intelligence agencies of Bangladesh
and Pakistan. The support it receives includes arms training, safe
havens, funds and weaponry. ULFA is also known to have links with the
Bangladeshi jihadi group, Harkat-ul-Jehadi-e-Islami.

In Punjab, competitive politics led to the emergence of a religious
extremist like Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale as a key figure. Inspired by
the vision of leading the Sikhs to ‘ultimate purity’ and an
independent Khalistan, Bhindranwale started an incipient campaign of
violence against his political opponents in the early 1980s. But a
full-blown terrorist movement emerged only in the aftermath of
Operation Bluestar, the consequent assassination of Indira Gandhi and
the anti-Sikh riots that followed. The terror campaign unleashed by
the various groups was indiscriminate in nature and saw the killing of
political leaders, officials, journalists, businessmen, and the common
people at large, both Sikh and Hindu.

K.P.S. Gill notes that in the peak years of 1990 and 1991, 1702 and
1851 Sikhs, respectively, were killed by the terrorists. The number of
non-Sikhs killed in these two years was 765 and 740. One of the worst
massacres was the mid-air bombing of the Kanishka in 1985, killing all
passengers and crew on board. Bombs were also placed in public
transport in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. In all,
11,500 civilians were killed in Punjab between 1981 when the terrorist
violence first manifested itself and 1993 when the back of the
terrorist movement was broken. About 1750 security forces personnel
also died during the same period. A significant factor in the greater
intensity of violence was Pakistan’s provision of sophisticated
weaponry and explosives as well as training to the terrorist groups.

Punjab, in many ways, was a training ground for Pakistan’s sponsorship
of cross-border terrorism against India in Jammu and Kashmir. An armed
separatist movement arose in the state in the wake of the fraudulent
elections of 1987. Some 20,000 youth crossed the border into Pakistan
for military training by the mid-1990s. The pro-independence Jammu and
Kashmir Liberation Front stood at the forefront of this movement in
the initial years. But Pakistan threw its weight behind the Hizbul
Mujahideen, which favoured Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan. When India
gained the upper hand against the separatists in the next few years,
Pakistan began to funnel its own citizens and other ‘graduates of the
Afghan war’ into Jammu and Kashmir.

With groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Harkat-ul-Ansar, and Harkat-ul-
Mujahideen assuming a greater role, what was hitherto an internal
rebellion, albeit with considerable support from Pakistan, degenerated
into cross-border terrorism. Mass killings, especially of minorities,
began with the introduction of transnational jihadists. Neither have
they spared Kashmiri Muslims, in whose name they wage their so-called
jihad. Overall, between 1988 when the violence first began and 2008,
some 14,500 civilians have been killed in terrorist violence in the
state. In addition, more than 5,800 security forces personnel have
also lost their lives during this period.

Involving foreign jihadists has provided a lever for Pakistan to
scuttle any movement towards peace in the state, as demonstrated
during the short-lived Ramzan ceasefire between Indian security forces
and the Hizbul Mujahideen in the year 2000. When Pakistan’s Kargil
misadventure failed to revive the flagging interest for the struggle
within the state and in the world at large, transnational groups began
to engage in fidayeen attacks against security forces. Subsequently,
this campaign was extended to other parts of India as well. The first
target to be attacked was the Red Fort in Delhi in December 2000. A
year later, it was the turn of the Indian Parliament. India’s threat
of war against this grave provocation, combined with international
condemnation and pressure, forced Pakistan to lower the intensity of
operations being carried out by terrorist groups based on its
territory. But even as infiltration from Pakistan into Jammu and
Kashmir showed a decline in the succeeding years, a terror campaign
targeting India’s hinterland began to unfold.

Links between Indian citizens engaged in this new wave of urban
terrorism and their friends, if not masters, in Pakistan are gradually
unravelling. The shameful tragedy of Gujarat 2002 and the earlier
demolition of the Babri Masjid served as catalysts for a handful of
youth to travel to Pakistan, acquire training in arms, and forge links
with the Establishment as well as transnational groups there. These
men have come together under the banner of Indian Mujahideen. The
group is a diffuse network spread across several states. Its aim
appears to include causing maximum casualties and mayhem by targeting
places where people congregate, arousing communal passions by
targeting mosques and temples, and disrupting the economy by targeting
important sectors like tourism and information technology.

Thus, seven bombs were placed on Mumbai suburban trains in July 2006,
killing 209 people and injuring over 700; the Sankatmochan Temple in
Varanasi was bombed in March 2006 and the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad in
May 2007; and, Jaipur and Bengaluru were targeted in May and July
2008, respectively. According to the email claiming responsibility for
the multiple bomb blasts in the markets of Delhi in September 2008,
the group’s aim was to ‘stop the heart of India from beating.’ Other
places that have been targeted as part of this terror campaign include
Ahmedabad, Faizabad, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Surat and Varanasi.

A significant feature of the Indian Mujahideen’s tactics is the use of
the widely available fertilizer ammonium nitrate as explosive. The
group has also demonstrated its coordination capabilities by carrying
out serial bomb blasts on successive days in more than one place – the
July 2008 attacks in Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and the bombs that failed to
detonate in Surat. Their use of email to claim responsibility, the
manner in which emails were sent from hacked wi-fi connections, and
the ability to vary the intensity of the explosions in Bengaluru and
Ahmedabad, all point to the group’s technological capabilities.

Even as Indian agencies were attempting to piece together the Indian
Mujahideen puzzle, 10 well-armed and well-trained Lashkar-e-Taiba
terrorists landed in Mumbai and launched a commando-style operation
against the maximum city’s symbols. 164 people and security forces
personnel died in this assault, including 26 foreign nationals. The
trail led to Pakistani territory and Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist
commanders and many in India suspected the role of elements within the
Pakistani establishment. The reasoning was that the attack was meant
to divert the incoming Obama administration’s central focus from the
Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier towards the India-Pakistan border.

Coincidentally, unidentified militants in Pakistan targeted American
and NATO military supplies meant for their war efforts in Afghanistan,
seemingly to remind the West about its vulnerabilities. It is not
clear what kind of a grand bargain was being hinted at. But the
Machiavellian strategy came to nought because of the restraint shown
by India in the face of such an enormous provocation. However,
Pakistan’s conviction that terrorist groups serve as ‘strategic
assets’ in its foreign policy repertoire is likely to continue,
notwithstanding ongoing American efforts to force a change in
thinking.

Each of the above challenges necessitates a distinct policy approach.
Separatist groups have to be dealt with through a policy of political
accommodation and concessions backed by counter-insurgency and counter-
terror measures. In the case of Pakistan-based terrorist groups,
domestic counter-terror measures have to be accompanied by diplomatic
and covert intelligence campaigns to disrupt and dismantle the
terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan. And dealing with domestic urban
terror groups would involve counter-terror measures, including the
strengthening of laws, police and intelligence efforts to trace and
neutralise terrorist cells and leadership, and mobilising communities
and the people at large against subversives living in our midst.

India’s counterinsurgency strategy has been dealt with elsewhere in
these pages. Suffice it to note here that since the 1950s India has
followed a consistent and successful policy of using minimum force to
deal with separatist groups and bringing them into the political
mainstream through accommodation and concessions. While this approach
is likely to prove useful in dealing with ULFA in Assam, it is
inadequate for dealing with the situation in Jammu and Kashmir where
the principal indigenous group, the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, has become
inextricably intertwined with Pakistani and transnational terrorist
groups under the umbrella of the United Jihad Council.

Any attempt by the Hizb to seek a separate peace is likely to result
in the whittling down of Pakistani support (as happened in the case of
the JKLF) and consequent marginalisation and irrelevance. Under the
circumstances, the security efforts in Jammu and Kashmir need to be
supplemented by measures to force Pakistan to cease support for
terrorist groups targeting India as well as measures to disrupt and
dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in that country.

At the diplomatic level India’s leverage vis-a-vis Pakistan is
limited, especially at this juncture when the state of affairs in that
country is delicately poised and when more powerful actors are engaged
in attempting to save it from itself. All that can be done at the
diplomatic level is to continually highlight Pakistan’s continuing use
of terrorism as an instrument of policy and sustain international
pressure to force Islamabad to take meaningful action against
terrorist groups targeting India. At the same time, military measures
aimed at either coercing the Pakistani establishment or disrupting the
infrastructure of the terrorist groups would also be ill-advised. As
seen during the crises of 2002, military coercion of the Pakistan
government on one hand and leveraging military tensions for
international diplomatic support on the other can yield only limited
dividends.

It was also realised at that time that military strikes against
terrorist camps would have only limited impact on the terror
infrastructure. Moreover, military action would aggravate bilateral
tensions, strengthen hawkish elements, and generally provide Pakistan
an excuse for not taking action against terrorist groups which it
continues to perceive as ‘strategic assets’. Instead of overt military
strikes, India should adopt covert measures to both raise the cost to
Islamabad as well as to degrade the terrorist leadership and
infrastructure on Pakistani territory. A good example in this regard
was India’s response in the late 1980s to the support Pakistan
provided for Khalistan groups.

At the same time, India also needs to focus on domestic counter-terror
measures, which have indeed received a fillip in the wake of the
Mumbai attack. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has been
legislated to provide the legal framework for counter-terrorism, and
the National Investigation Agency has been established to investigate
and prosecute terrorist offences. In addition, a number of measures
have been taken to raise ‘the level of preparedness’ and enhance ‘the
speed and decisiveness’ in responding to terrorist attacks or threats.
These include a fresh mandate to the Multi Agency Centre and its
subsidiaries to smoothen the collation and sharing of intelligence,
and the establishment of National Security Guard hubs in different
parts of the country to enable a quicker response to terrorist
attacks.

However useful these institutions and mechanisms prove to be in the
coming years, the key to counter-terrorism is the police force which
falls within the purview of state governments. Until such time state
governments shed their apathy and begin to appreciate the imperative
of modernising and de-politicising their police forces, India’s
counter-terrorism efforts are likely to remain ineffective.

http://www.india-seminar.com/2009/599/599_s_kalyanaraman.htm

Sarasvati (7 Vols-Set)

S. Kalyanaraman, Baba Saheb, 2003, 2044 p, 7 Vols, figs, plates, maps,
ISBN : 81-901126-1-0 (Vol. I); 81-901126-2-0 (Vol. II); 81-901126-3-0
(Vol. III); 81-901126-4-0 (Vol. IV); 81-901126-5-0 (Vol. V);
81-901126-6-0 (Vol. VI); 81-901126-7-0 (Vol. VII)., $231.00 (Includes
free airmail shipping)
Contents: Vol. I: Civilization: 1. New light on Sarasvati
civilization. 2. Sarasvati: discovery and rebirth. 3. River Sarasvati:
archaeology, culture and heritage tourism. 4. Ecology, River Sarasvati
and roots of civilization of Bharat. 5. Revival of River Sarasvati
begins. 6. River Sarasvati: archaeology, tradition and water
resources. 7. Bharati, Sarasvati. 8. Vidya_devi Sarasvati. 9. Dilmun,
Magan, and sea-faring merchants of Meluhha. 10. From Sarasvati to
Haraquaiti. 11. Mleccha, Mlecchita vikalpa: language and writing
system. 12. Hieroglyphs of Sarasvati Civilization. 13. S'ankha,
Bhairava, Man.d.ala. 14. Sculptural tradition. 15. Bead-making
tradition. 16. Archery tradition. 17. Mahabharata as the sheet-anchor
of Bharatiya Itihasa. 18. Sarasvati Civilization. Index.

Vol. II: R.gveda: 1. R.gveda and Sarasvati. 2. Vedic roots of early
metallurgy. 3. Soma. 4. Vedic Ratha. Index. End notes.

Vol. III: River: 1. River Indo-brahm, River Sarasvati of quaternary
periods. 2. Riverine traditions of Bharat. 3. Maritime traditions of
Bharat. 4. Seafaring artisans of Meluhha. 5. Settlements and forts. 6.
Kot., fortified settlements in Sarasvati Sindhu River Basins. 7.
Sarasvati Civilization. 8. Archaeological sites. Bibliography. Index.
End notes.

Vol. IV: Bharati: 1. Westward migrations out of Bharat. 2. Veneration
of ancestors. 3. Bha_ratam Janam. 4. Vra_tya and building a ra_s.t.ra.
5. Maritime, riverine trade in Vedic times. 6. Vedic and Avestan
people. 7. Vedic and Avestan. 8. Defence. 9. Roots of civilization.
10. Evolution of traditions of the civilization. 11. Contacts. 12.
Sarasvati Civilization. Index. End notes.

Vol. V: Technology: 1. Metallurgy tradition. 2. Natural resource map
of ancient Bharat. 3. Tin from Meluhha. 4. Ancient trade in Tin. 5.
Copper hoard weapons: autochthonous evolution and links with Sarasvati
Civilization. 6. The cultural markers of legacy of the civilization.
7. Words for copper. 8. Tradition of sacred weapons. 9. Bronze age
artifacts in areas neighbouring Sarasvati Civilization. 10. Bharat,
Hurrian, Mitanni. 11. Harappan spoked wheel. Index. End notes.

Vol. VI: Language: 1. Lingua Franca. 2. Linguistic area of Bharat,
circa 5500 years before present. 3. IE homeland. 4. Language and
archaeology. 5. Desi_, bha_s.a_: substrate. 6. Silver ingot with
Hittite (?) hieroglyphs. 7. Rim (karn.aka, kan-) of a jar, kan,
'copper'. 8. Svastika, endless-knot and other glyphs. 9. On Siddham
and other symbols used in Bharatiya inscriptions. 10. Tiger, three
ligatured tigers, tiger looking back. 11. Human-faced markhor and
other glyphs. 12. Orthography of the one-horned bull (ibex, urus) and
the standard device. 13. List of possessions: copper ingot merchant,
metal furnace. 14. Squirrel and glyphs on weapons. 15. Dholavira sign
board. 16. Inscribed weapons. 17. Glyphs on Gundestrup Cauldron and
parallels with Sarasvati hieroglyphs. 18. Sarasvati Civilization.
Index. End notes.

Vol. VII: Epigraphs: 1. Sarasvati hieroglyphs: Mlecchita Vikalpa. 2.
Method to decode sets or categories of inscribed objects. 3.
Hieroglyph sign list (after Mahadevan). 4. Discovery sites. 5. Writing
system: structure, form and function. 6. Speculations on the functions
of the script. 7. Mlecchita Vikalpa: minerals, metals and furnaces. 8.
Tools-of-trade and property possessions of artisans depicted in
epigraphs. 9. Bastion, kottala, trough. 10. Smithy, pasra. 11.
Mineral, stone. 12. Tin, Pewter. 13. Iron, ib. 14. Bronze. 15. Alloy:
brass and bell-metal or bharan. 16. Metal ingot, trade. 17. Gold,
mint. 18. An alloy of five metals. 19. Erka, era, 'copper'. 20.
Duplicated and paired glyphs. 21. Person (woman) seated on a tree
branch, a spy, eraka. 22. Portable stove of a goldsmith, ban:gala. 23.
Fire-pit, furnace, kulme. 24. Smith, karma_ra. 25. Copper work. 26.
Smelting furnace, bat.i. 27. Smelting furnace, kut.hi. 28. Goldsmith's
tool, saw. 29. Standard device. 30. Dotted circles. 31. Rosetta
stones. 32. Dotted circles and standard. 33. Double-axe. 34. Glyph
ligatures. 35. Fish and lizard. 36. Standing person glyph. 37. Tree
glyphs. 38. Fish glyph. 39. Sarasvati Civilization. Index. End notes.

From the foreword: "This septet constitutes a fitting homage to
Babasaheb (Uma_ka_nt kes'av) Apte, particularly in the wake of the
centenary celebrations planned for 2003 in memory of this patriot who
wanted a presentation of the history of Bha_rata from a Bha_rati_ya
socio-cultural perspective.

"The dream of the late Padmashri Vakankar, archaeologist is also
partly fulfilled with the delineation of the peoples' lives over 5,000
years on the banks of the Rivers Sarasvati and Sindhu.

"The Sarasvati Nadi Shodh Prakalp which is headed by Dr. Kalyanaraman
under the guidance of Shri Haribhau Vaze, All-India Organizing
Secretary, Akhila Bharateeya Itihaasa Sankalana Yojana should be
complimented for bringing to successful completion this important
phase of writing of the history of ancient Bha-rata.

"The River Sarasvati has not only been established as ground-truth
(bhu_mi satyam), but the vibrant civilization which was nurtured on
the banks of this river has been exquisitely unraveled in the five
volumes, covering virtually all aspects of the lives of the pitr.-s,
many of whose a_s'rama-s are venerated even today in many parts of
Bha_rata.

"The seven volumes provide a framework for understanding the writing
system evolved ca. 5,300 years ago to record the possessions and items
traded by metal- and fire- workers, the bharata-s. The language spoken
by the people is also becoming clearer, with the existence of a
linguistic area on the banks of the two rivers - the substrata and ad-
strata lexemes which seem to match the glyphs of inscribed objects are
a testimony to this discovery. This calls for a paradigm shift in the
study of languages of Bha_rata with particular reference to the
essential semantic unity of all the language families, thanks to
intense socio-economic and cultural interactions across the length and
breadth of Bha_rata.

"Hopefully, this work should generate many more research studies of
this kind to further study the impact of the civilization on the
cultural unity of the nation."

https://www.vedamsbooks.com/no34694.htm

Dr. Jai Maharaj
Jul 4 2009, 8:44 pm

From: use...@mantra.com and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
Date: Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:44:47 GMT
Local: Sat, Jul 4 2009 8:44 pm

Subject: WITZEL, HARVARD PROFESSOR LAUNCHES ANTI-HINDU CRUSADE

Forwarded message from S. Kalyanaraman

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Witzel, Harvard professor launches anti-Hindu Crusade
Dr. Srinivasan Kalyanaraman

Quiz #1:

"Hindus in the USA are lost or abandoned people!"

"NRI stands for Non-Returning Indians!"

"Indians in the USA do not invest in the higher education of their
children!"

Who in the USA do you think would have made derogatory statements to
this effect?

A. A Ku Klux Klansman
B. A Bible thumping fundamentalist from Alabama
C. A Xenophobe who is paranoid about immigrants settling in the USA
D. A Harvard Sanskrit professor

Correct answer: D.

I am sure none of you scored right on this. So, read on and get
informed.

Harvard professor disparages Hindus

Recently, in a Communist-leaning political list better known for its
uncritical beliefs in myths like Aryan Invasion and its negation of
historical facts, Harvard professor Michael Witzel made some
startling claims about Hindu immigrants to the USA. One of his
acolytes invented the acronym HINA for Hindus in North America.
Witzel disingenuously and infamously transliterated it as "hiina"and
translated it as "lost" or "abandoned." This Sanskrit word has many
other derogatory meanings such as "inferior," "insecure," "lowly" and
"defective."

It caught my attention that Witzel had described Hindus using the
very same phrase -- "lost people" -- which a rabid Christian
fundamentalist and anti-Semite had used to describe the Jews a few
years ago.

Rev. Bailey Smith, then-president of the Southern Baptists, had
infamously declared:

"God Almighty does not hear the prayer of a Jew" and added, "without
Jesus Christ, they [the Jews] are lost." [1]

One does not know whether, or to what extant, Witzel shares Smith's
fanatical and bigoted beliefs. But Witzel was instrumental in urging
activism against the Hindu initiative, as a result of which his
cosignatory urged a Hindu-bashing Christian fundamentalist to
mobilize a show of strength against the Hindus of California, as we
will see later. Witzel also makes fun of the Hindu custom of
cremating their dead:

"[Hindus immigrants to the USA] have begun -- as an old, very
conservative US Brahmin friend pointed out to me already in 1994—
building crematoria as well." [2]

Witzel also makes fun of Hindu Gods, rituals and second generation
American Hindus:

"Second generation [Hindu] people just understand [Hinduism] as
"boaring rituals" (puja, etc.), temple visits and Indian
(mythological) comic books ... All such items add to the heady brew
that we have seen emerging here..." [3]

Considering that our Harvard professor has specifically enclosed the
words "boaring rituals" within quotes, one cannot but assume that it
was intended to make fun of the Hindu God Vishnu, who incarnated as a
boar.

Background

Some of the proposed textbooks for grade six of the State of
California portrayed Hinduism in the most derogatory manner. A
textbook described Goddess Kali as "bloodthirsty" and, while talking
about the Ramayana and Lord Hanuman, asked the students to look
around and see if there was a monkey in the classroom. Another
textbook claimed that Hinduism taught that women were inferior. Yet
another textbook repeated the long discredited racist theory, which
contrasted the supposedly tall, blond and blue-eyed invading Aryans
with the supposedly curly-haired, snub-nosed native Dravidians.

Naturally, Hindus in California were offended by this offensive
treatment of their religion and culture. So, they worked with the
State Board of Education, understood the procedures and submitted a
list of proposed changes with due explanation. Perhaps, Max Muller,
the 19 th century German racist and Christian fundamentalist, who had
stated very clearly that Hindus as a race are inferior to the Whites
but superior to the Blacks, [4]would not have countenanced such
audacious gestures from erstwhile colonial slaves seeking parity with
other religionists according to rules. A section of Eurocentric
academics that faithfully propagate Muller's racist theory and
chronology of Indian history too did not tolerate such a gesture from
the Hindus.

'Rev.' Witzel launches anti-Hindu Crusade

Witzel and some of his cosignatories admitted that they knew nothing
about the nature of the changes proposed . But, in the same breath,
they concluded that this is an unacceptable Hindutva initiative,
which must be opposed tooth and nail. On Sunday, November 06, 2005
9:46 AM Steve Farmer [a cosignatory and originator of Witzel et al's

protest petition] wrote:

"There is little time to research and respond to exactly what is
happening in California, since we only learned about organized
Hindutva challenges to California history textbooks yesterday. ...
The final School Board meeting on this will apparently occur in
Sacramento (the state capital) in three days. Even given the short
time, a collective response of some nature by internationally known
S. Asianists is certainly in order. At a minimum, the Board should be
made aware in some way of the religious and political nature of the
attacks, be provided with a quick overview of similar attacks on
textbooks in S. Asia in the last decade, and be given notice of the
opposition of the vast majority of S. Asian researchers to such
changes. Given the short time frame, the response may have to be
largely symbolic, but a letter endorsed by a dozen or more
internationally known S. Asianists from every continent might still
have some effect."[5]

Witzel, on behalf of another 46 signatories, petitioned the State
Board of Education [SBE] against the proposed changes [the nature of
which he and his cosignatories were unaware]. He launched an ad
hominem and slanderous attack on the Hindus who had proposed the
changes.

The petition, like Lallu Prasad's election campaign, provided a
"balanced" mix of ignorance, slander and comic relief. Jonathan Mark
Kenoyer, whose parents were Christian missionaries in Asia, was one
of the signatories on the petition. He is also the author of the
proposed textbook from the Oxford University Press. California Hindus
had reviewed the OUP textbook and suggested changes in a meeting with
OUP officials. The OUP officials informed in writing that Kenoyer
agreed with the suggestions. Should one then suspect the inclusion of
Kenoyer's name in the petition or was Kenoyer filled with the Holy
Spirit and began speaking in tongues [The New Testament, Acts 19:6]?

Sometime back, in a review of Edwin Bryant's 2001 book, The Quest for
the Origins of Vedic Culture -- the Indo-Aryan Migration Debate,

Witzel wrote:

"[Bryant's book is] A balanced description and evaluation of the two
century old debate dealing with the origins of the Indo-Aryan
speaking peoples of South Asia. [Bryant] presents both sides of the
issue, that is the traditional western, linguistic and philological
consensus of immigration from Central Asia, and the more recent
Indian position that denies any immigration and that asserts an
indigenous South Asian origin."

Now, the same Witzel calls it Hindu Nationalistic propagandawhen
California Hindus say the same! Perhaps, he is filled with the Holy
Spirit and speaking in tongues!

The SBE of California capitulates

In 1850 CE, when the Harvard Medical School admitted three black men
and a white woman, racists protested against the move. The school
capitulated. [6] Just like those racists offered no substantive
arguments for throwing out the blacks and the woman, this time too,
the infamous petitioners offered no substantive reason for
campaigning against the changes suggested by Hindus. Still, the SBE
capitulated. One wonders if the SBE wanted to emulate the Harvard of
1850 CE.

The SBE went a step further. It appointed two of the signatories --
Michael Witzel and Stanley Wolpert -- and James Heitzman, who
protested at the venue repeating Witzel's ad hominem attack to review
the suggested changes. Is not appointing a petitioner to review
suggested changes tantamount to conflict of interest?

On the other hand, the SBE is not known to have acted on a letter
signed by over 30 distinguished experts that included world's
foremost archeologists who have been working on the IVC and its
script for decades. These signatories cited many references showing
why Aryan Invasion is merely an unsubstantiated myth.

The above said letter was sent on November 21, 2005. The SBE, for
reasons unknown, did not accord it the same respect it accorded
Witzel's defamatory petition.

Crusaders form an axis of protestors

Witzel made it clear that he was a political activist. On November
26, 2005 17:26, he wrote his fellow petitioners:

"There will be a meeting with California Dept. of Education [...]
Please note that on Dec. 1/2 a higher body than last time, the
Curriculum Commission, is scheduled to take up this issue in the
morning on December 2 (note all times are tentative—if they move
through the agenda faster than expected, things will happen earlier).

This is not a public hearing. But all that means is that there is no
official published time for the public to speak before the
commissioners take action . Nonetheless, each meeting has a time for
"public comment" and people will be allowed to come up and speak.
(Thus, we have to be present).

If they follow the order of the published agenda, public comment
comes after the actual vote. They will only hear Tom Adam's (CA Dept.
of Education) report on the earlier (Hindutva-inspired) and our
(Wolpert, Heitzman, Witzel) findings.

But if they see the huge Hindutva crowd expected and decide to let
them speak first, it is possible votes will be swayed back the other
way simply because no political person likes to say no, in public, to
an unhappy minority group seeking redress of grievances.

It also appears that in the afternoon of December 1, the day before
the vote, the History-Social Science subcommittee will hear reports
about recent events in the adoption of the text books. This should
not involve any discussion of the "Hindu" issue. But the Hindu groups
might show up for that discussion too. Public comment is allowed and
it will give them a chance to speak to some of the commissioners
before the vote the next day.

SO PLEASE TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION: Alert your friends in California
to attend!" [7]

How appropriate is it for a reviewer on contract with the SBE who is
expected to be neutral, to indulge in political activism, falsely
label California Hindus as of a political persuasion and seek
unethical mobilization of support? How appropriate is it for the SBE
to hire such politicized academics to review school textbooks?

In any case, Lars Martin Fosse, a cosignatory on the petition and a
collaborator of Witzel, wrote John Dayal and Amarjit Singh, citing
Witzel's letter:

"It would probably be an advantage if Dalits were present and could
demonstrate that the Hindutvavadins do not speak for all Indians. I
have been reluctant to announce this on the Dalit lists because we
don't know if they are infiltrated, we therefore turn to you for
advice and help. Is there a way to (discretely) mobilize Dalits in
California and elsewhere in this matter? Could you get some support
from Afro-American organizations here?We don't want to create the
impression that only a few outsiders are against the Hindutva version
of history." [8]

Please note that Fosse uses the word "WE," clearly indicating that he
is writing on behalf of a group while seeking mobilization of
protestors. The only group one could think of in this situation is
the list of cosignatories on the petition whom Witzel had addressed
in his email. So, who are these people -- John Dayal and Amarjit
Singh -- whom Fosse writes? P.N. Benjamin, a distinguished Christian
scholar and the coordinator of Bangalore Initiative for Religious
Dialogue [BIRD], says of John Dayal:

"[John Dayal] opens his mouth and wields his pen only to spew venom
on the Hindu community." [9]

Benjamin then goes on to expose the kind of lies that the likes of
Dayal perpetrate when they invent stories of Hindu rape of Christian
nuns and propagate those abroad with the sole intent of discrediting
the Hindus. John Dayal is also infamous for ardently supporting Benny
Hinn, who defrauds the poorest illiterates in the Third World by
promising them "miracle healing." [10]

According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal [SATP], Amarjit Singh is
closely associated with the banned terror organization International
Sikh Youth Federation [ISYF]. [11] Many countries such as the USA
[12] and the UK [13] have designated ISYF as a terrorist
organization. Singh also heads the Khalistan Affairs Centre [KAC]. I
am not implying that KAC is connected with Khalistani terrorism as I
have no means to judge that but it is a well-known fact that
Khalistani terrorists have massacred 21,000 innocent civilian Hindus
and Sikhs, and have committed untold crimes such as rape of countless
Sikh women. [14] A US State department notification states:

"Sikh terrorism is sponsored by expatriate and Indian Sikh groups who
want to carve out an independent Sikh state called Khalistan (Land of
the Pure) from Indian territory." [15]

Khalistani terrorists were also tried for the bombing of the Air
India civilian aircraft"Kanishka" in 1985, killing hundreds of
innocent passengers. [16] Amarjit Singh is an advocate of Khalistan
ideology.

There is no indication that Witzel or any other signatory on the
petition condemned Fosse [himself a signatory] for unethically
mobilizing political support and that too, by instigating highly
controversial persons. It is beyond my comprehension how an academic
could join hands with a rabid Christian fundamentalist and a
proponent of the lethal Khalistan ideology. What kind of academics
would sign the petition but remain silent and not condemn unethically
seeking support from such controversial individuals?

Quiz #2:

"The miraculously undecayed body of Saint Francis Xavier is still on
public view in a glass coffin at the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa."

Who in the USA do you think would have made a statement to this
effect?

A. A pre-school child visiting Goa for the first time
B. A Bible thumping Catholic Christian fundamentalist
C. A Creation scientist
D. A U C Davis history professor

Correct answer: D.

I am sure you got this too wrong. So, read on and get informed.

An SBE appointed reviewer advertises Christian miracles

James Heitzman, professor of history at U C Davis, is one of the
three reviewers appointed by the SBE. It does not seem as if he
accepts that mummified bodies do not decay. [17] He is wonderstruck
that it is a miracle that the mummified body of the infamous St.
Francis Xavier, who sought the terrible Inquisition of Goa, [18]
which persecuted Hindus, Indian Orthodox Christians, Jews and Muslims
in the most vicious manner, should be preserved for five centuries.
Someone needs to direct our distinguished professor to any museum of
natural history, where Egyptian mummies are preserved. Of course, one
cannot guarantee that Heitzman will return scientifically informed.
He may see the hand of miracle in their preservation too!

It seems as if Heitzman strongly believes that history should be
supplanted with false propaganda if it suits the proselytizing
efforts of the Christian Church. He writes:

"Christianity, represented by almost all denominations, traces its
history in India back to the time of the apostles and counted 19.6
million members in India in 1991." [19]

Numerous scholars have refuted this dangerous fiction, which falsely
painted the Brahmin ethnic minority as Thomas-killers, and resulted
in their demonization and persecution, just as the false myth of the
Jews as Jesus-killers resulted in their historic persecution. The
Vatican itself has declared that this is an unverified claim.
Numerous distinguished academics such as E.J. Rapson, Sylvain Levi,
K.S. Latourette, Fr. H.Heras etc, to name a few, have refuted that
St. Thomas ever came to India. [20] It seems as if Heitzman prefers
dangerous Christian fiction to facts.

Heitzman believes in revelations

Heitzman unquestioningly accepts revelations. He writes:

"Muhammad received visions in which the Archangel Gabriel revealed
the word of God to him . After 620 he publicly preached the message
of these visions, stressing the oneness of God (Allah), denouncing
the polytheism of his fellow Arabs, and calling for moral uplift of
the population." [21]

Since Heitzman is mesmerized by revelations, he is unimpressed by the
inquiries into the truth, a common feature of Hindu philosophy, which
he dismisses as speculations. He writes:

"Some of the later hymns of the Rig Veda contain speculations that
form the basis for much of Indian religious and philosophical
thought." [22]

Heitzman, while discussing Hindu festivals, calls Hindus cross-
dressers:

"Major Hindu events include Ramanavami, the birthday of Ram in the
month of Chaitra (March-April), and Holi, celebrated at the end of
the month of Phalguna (February-March), when people engage in cross-
dressing, play tricks on each other, and squirt colored water or
powder on each other." [23]

How can the SBE nominate an academic, who believes in miracles and
fits history to suit Christian propaganda, to review contents
relating to Hinduism in school textbooks, especially when he is also
a signatory on Witzel's petition? Does the SBE agree with Heitzman's
uncharitable remarks on Hinduism and Hindus?

Quiz #3:

"The most important invasion in all of India's history, since the
Aryans brought with their Caucasian genes [is Aryan invasion]."

Who in the USA do you think would have made a statement to this
effect?

A. A Ku Klux Klansman
B. A eugenics advocate
C. A White Supremacist
D. A U C Los Angeles history professor

Correct answer: D.

I am sure you got this too wrong, unless you have by now learnt that
only Western historians can make such statements. Anyway, read on.

Wolpert celebrates the Caucasian gene

While discussing Aryan invasion theory [AIT], Stanley Wolpert, a UCLA

historian writes:

"This was the most important invasion in all of India's history,
since the Aryans brought with their Caucasian genes a new language --
Sanskrit -- and a new pantheon of gods…"[24]

It seems that to our UCLA professor the importance of an invasion
depends on whether it involved the inflow of Caucasian genes! Hey,
what is next? The most important invasion in all of Americas' history
is the 16 th century invasion of Europeans because it brought in
Caucasian genes? Thank god, African Americans, who do not possess
Caucasian genes, did not invade Americas!

I could not but think of the 18th century racist Benjamin Rush's
writings on "Lovely White"skin contrasted with the Black skin as I
read Wolpert wax eloquent on the importance of coming in of the
Caucasian genes. Benjamin Rush, a medical doctor, attributed Black
skin to leprosy and advocated "curing" African-Americans by bleeding
and purging. [25]

Not to be outdone by Heitzman, Wolpert also repeats the dangerous
Christian propaganda of the imagined visit of St. Thomas to India. He
writes:

"A small but influential group of Syrian Christians in Kerala persist
in claiming that their sect was founded by St. Thomas, who may have
sailed to Malabar in the first century and who was supposedly
martyred at Mylapore , a suburb of modern Madras, in A.D. 68. The
tiny Jewish community of Cochin also claims to have been founded in
the first century, but no clear historical evidence of such early
Jewish settlement in Malabar has as yet been discovered." [26]

The reference of Mylapore is to the mythical killing of St. Thomas by
a peaceful and scholarly ethnic minority of Tamil Brahmins. A
rational person might be at a loss to understand how St. Thomas, who
did not even visit India, could have been killed there. But, Wolpert
has no compunctions in repeating this perniciously false propaganda,
which, since the Portuguese colonial period, has resulted in the most
terrible persecution of Brahmins. Is anything acceptable if it helps
demonize Hindus and help perpetuate Christianity?

Why is the SBE nominating such a biased academic, who is also a
signatory on Witzel's petition, to review contents relating to
Hinduism?

Conclusion

1. I have shown that the SBE capitulated to political pressure
by nominating a trio of academics who have indulged in the most
despicable form of political activism, disparaged Hinduism or
collaborated with controversial elements.

2. The SBE did not accord any respect to the scholars who
supported the Hindu initiative by presenting solid references.

3. One of these academics has also expressed his admiration for
Christian miracles, while another has propagated falsified [over 80
years ago!] Christian propaganda.

4. Is it not a clear violation of guidelines, and law, to
subject Hinduism and Hindus to such treatment? Does the SBE want
Hindu children of California to be indoctrinated in false propaganda?

5. It is heartening to note that the Commission constituted by
the SBE dismissed virtually all demands made by this trio -- Witzel,
Wolpert and Heitzman -- with the contempt they deserved. According to
a report of December 4, 2005 by the HPI, Heitzman unsuccessfully
pleaded to replace Aryan Invasion Theory [AIT] with Aryan Migration
Theory [AMT]. But Commissioner Metzenberg, a biologist, objected on
scientific grounds. He said:

"I've read the DNA research and there was no Aryan migration. I
believe the hard evidence of DNA more than I believe historians."

It was finally agreed to say, "Some historians believe in the
theory of an Aryan migration."

This shows how false theories motivated by racist politics never
stand scientific scrutiny. Of course, there is no justification even
in retaining AMT, which is merely a belief, and not supported by
facts. Hindus must meet the SBE to ensure that theories which are not
scientifically substantiated be removed altogether.

6. Heitzman, apparently frustrated that his advocacies failed
the test of scientific evidence, said to the Commission:

"I advise you to err on the side of conservatism and be very careful
about adopting any of these changes."

Commissioner Metzenberg replied pointedly:

"On the contrary, to err on the side of conservatism, we should use
the Hindu suggestions. After all, it's their religion."

7. Metzenberg also felt a comment by Witzel's panel on one edit
was "insensitive."The edit was to fix the incorrect statement that
the Ramayana was written later than the Mahabharata. Witzel's group
wrote condescendingly:

"Who in Sixth Grade cares which epic was 'written' first?"

Metzenberg observed that "it obviously matters to Hindus."

8. Hindus must also make it very clear to the SBE that no
academic that is known to be inimical to Hinduism or known to have
distorted facts to fit pet beliefs be not allowed to have any say in
the process of reviewing and amending textbooks. As such, the trio of
reviewers was admitted into the process without justification. I have
presented solid evidence that they indulged in political activism
contrary to the spirit of their contract with the SBE. Hindus must
demand that the SBE should terminate their contract right away.

9. Hindus must demand that the SBE does not entertain any of
the signatories of Witzel's petition in the textbook review and
adoption process as I have already demonstrated that they are biased
and politically motivated.

10. Witzel has ridiculed the most sacred of the Hindu mantras or

sacred chants. He writes:

"Many short mantras (the later biija mantras) like oM have humble
origins the Veda. Him (hiM) is used in the Veda to call your goat ..
and your wife." [27]

Steve Farmer's [who initiated the petition] and also signed on
Witzel's petition declared, in pathetic attempt at humor, that he
would try this mantra on his girlfriend. [28] Hindus must demand that
academics with a history of disparaging Hinduism cannot influence
what goes into textbooks meant for children.

11. Finally, only academics and experts on religion with a non-
controversial record should be nominated to influence the process of
textbook adoption. Academics that are accused of having used
unethical means of scholarship should not be used for this purpose.

Prof. B.B. Lal, the world's foremost archeologist and expert on Indus
Valley Civilization, in his most recent publication,The Homeland of
the Aryans -- Evidence of Rigvedic Flora and Fauna & Archaeology, pp.
85-89 (New Delhi, 2005) writes that Dr. Witzel unethically and
willfully assigned two opposite meanings to two occurrences of the
same Sanskrit word to artificially make the verse support Aryan
migration into India, whereas the verse actually makes it very clear
that Aryans migrated in two branches, one to the West and another to
the East, from northwestern India.

It was a very sad day for Sanskrit scholarship in general, and
Harvard in particular when one of its academics was accused of and
disgraced for willfully and unethically mistranslating a verse. When
the error was pointed to him in the past, Witzel conveniently blamed
it on the editor of the relevant publication concerned, despite the
fact that the same mistranslation has been printed by him in many
other publications of his.

12. Even in the petition he sent the SBE, Witzel claims that one of
the signatories, S. Palaniappan as: "S. Palaniappan, PhD, Indology,
Texas." It must be pointed out that Palaniappan, who works for the
Minute Maid Company in Texas, is not an Indologist by any stretch of
that word. Certainly, he is not a Ph.D. in Indology as Witzel
misleads in his petition. Palaniappan received his doctorate in
engineering. Should one then infer that Palaniappan is a 'made in a
minute' instant Indologist? Did Witzel use Heitzman's miracle to
transform engineer Palaniappan into an Indologist?

Dr. Srinivasan Kalyanaraman, a former Sr. Exec. of Asian Development
Bank, is a Hindu. His two grandchildren, US citizens, study in US
schools. His email id is kalya...@gmail.com

[1] http://www.religioustolerance.org/jud_chrr.htm

[2] Vide message number 2300 at Yahoo groups Indo-Eurasian_research

[3] In the above message

[4] Muller, M.: History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, page 294.
Also see, a paper presented by Arvind Kumar at the SBE
hearing:

http://jitnasa.india-forum.com/Docs/ProAryanInvasionTheoryargumentspr...

[5] Vide message number 2225 Yahoo groups Indo-Eurasian_research

[6] Takaki, R.T.: Iron Cages -- Race and Culture in 19th Century
America, p. 137

[7] This email was posted vide message number 8893 at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bahujan/message/8893

[8] Cited from the abovementioned email

[9] Benjamin, P.N .: When Intolerance Begets Loss Of Reason.
Available at http://www.hvk.org/articles/0905/43.html

[10] http://www.rickross.com/reference/hinn/hinn32.html

[11] http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/kpsgill/security/04Feb21Pio.htm

[12] http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/1999report/appb.html
andhttp://japan.usembassy.gov/e/p/tp-20040430-33.html

[13] http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/terrorism-and-the-law/terrorism...

[14] Bruce Hoffman "Holy Terror": The Implications Of Terrorism
Motivated By A Religious Imperative RAND Paper P-7834, 1993

http://www.nwcitizen.com/publicgood/reports/holywar3.htm#endn39

cf. Komerath, N:

http://www.geocities.com/charcha_2000/essays/Lashkar-e-Pinocchio.html...

[15] http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/1999report/appb.html

[16] http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/punjab/backgroun...

[17] Heitzman, J. and Worden, R.L.: A Country Study: India, Chapter 3
-- Religious Life by James Heitzman (section: Other Minority
Religions -- Christianity), Library of Congress Call Number DS407.
cf. a paper presented by Arvind Kumar at the SBE hearing:

http://jitnasa.india-forum.com/Docs/ProAryanInvasionTheoryargumentspr...

[18] Priolkar, A.K.: The Terrible Tribunal for the East -- The Goa
Inquisition. In a letter dated May 16, 2005, St. Xavier writing D.
Joao III, king of Portugal, demanded Inquisition against the Jews and
Muslims of Goa. Even though the wise king turned down the demand,
ultimately, due to intense pressure from the Catholic Church, the
most terrible Inquisition would be unleashed, first on the Jews of
India, then the Muslims and finally, in a most oppressive manner, on
the Hindus.

[19] Heitzman, J. and Worden, R.L.: A Country Study: India, Chapter 3
-- Religious Life, Library of Congress Call Number DS407 .I4465 1996,

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/intoc.html

cf. a paper presented by Arvind Kumar at the SBE hearing:

http://jitnasa.india-forum.com/Docs/ProAryanInvasionTheoryargumentspr...

[20] For an excellent discussion, see Sharan, I.:The Myth of Saint
Thomas and the Mylapore Shiva Temple, p. 73

[21] Heitzman, J. and Worden, R.L.: A Country Study: India, Chapter 3
-- Religious Life by James Heitzman (section: Islam -- Origins and
Tenets), Library of Congress Call Number DS407 .I4465 1996,

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/intoc.html

cf. a paper presented by Arvind Kumar at the SBE hearing:

http://jitnasa.india-forum.com/Docs/ProAryanInvasionTheoryargumentspr...

[22] Heitzman, J. and Worden, R.L.: A Country Study: India, Chapter 3
-- Religious Life by James Heitzman (section: The Roots of Indian
Religion -- The Vedas and Polytheism), Library of Congress Call
Number DS407 .I4465 1996,

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/intoc.html

cf. a paper presented by Arvind Kumar at the SBE hearing:

http://jitnasa.india-forum.com/Docs/ProAryanInvasionTheoryargumentspr...

[23] Heitzman, J. and Worden, R.L.: A Country Study: India, Chapter 3
-- Religious Life by James Heitzman (section: The Ceremonies of
Hinduism -- Public Worship -- Festivals), Library of Congress Call
Number DS407 .I4465 1996,

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/intoc.html

cf. a paper presented by Arvind Kumar at the SBE hearing:

http://jitnasa.india-forum.com/Docs/ProAryanInvasionTheoryargumentspr...

[24] Wolpert, S.: A New History of India, Fifth Edition, page 27 cf.
a paper presented by Arvind Kumar at the SBE hearing:

http://jitnasa.india-forum.com/Docs/ProAryanInvasionTheoryargumentspr...

[25] Takaki, R.T .: Iron Cages -- Race and Culture in 19th Century
America, pp. 28-32
[26] Wolpert, S.: A New History of India, Fifth Edition, page 84.
[27] Vide message number 2133 at Yahoo groups Indo-Eurasian_research
[28] Vide message number 2164 at Yahoo groups Indo-Eurasian_research

A REFRESHER -- DOWN "MEMORY LANE"!
http://tinyurl.com/c3f4b

http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian/msg/41fb7e5f908af736?

http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian/browse_thread/thread/3ad4924dd284570e/58802713d74b0c6b#58802713d74b0c6b

http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian/search?q=S.+Kalyanaraman+&start=0&

http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian/search?group=soc.culture.indian&q=S.+Kalyanaraman+Sid+Harth&qt_g=Search+this+group

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/19684779/lalumanagementguru

http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_z_misc_navagraha/mangala108.itx

http://www.hindubooks.org/history/sarasvati/sarasvati_1.html

http://newstodaynet.com/printer.php?id=18010

chhotemianinshallah

unread,

Apr 1, 2010, 2:38:32 PM4/1/10

On Mar 31, 11:22 pm, Dušan Vukotić <dusan.vuko...@gmail.com> wrote:
> http://www.angelfire.com/oh/Monkeys2/images/NGMonkey.jpg

Rig-Veda for MS-WORD 97
Hiroshi KUMAMOTO
University of Tokyo
January 21, 1998

These files are based on the DOS text on the diskette accompanying RIG
VEDA, A METRICALLY RESTORED TEXT, edited by Barend A. van Nooten and
Gary B. Holland, Harvard Oriental Series, Vol. 50, Harvard UP, 1994.
The only difference is that the character 160 (A0h) for "a acute" is
replaced by 225 (E1h) throughout. This is necessary because A0h is
reserved by MS-WORD for "Nonbreaking space".

In order to use these WORD files, the truetype font SANSKR.TTF must be
installed. This font is designed according to the "International
Codepage for Sanskrit diacritics (including the special characters
used in the metrical version of the RV). See the last page of the
"Contents of the diskette" by van Nooten. Here again for the reason
stated above "a acute" appears at 225 (E1h).

Since the lower part of this Codepage is the DOS codepage 437, and not
the "Windows Character Set" (thus "n tilde" is 164, not 241), the
Windows users will have to reassign most of the shortcut keys for the
accented and umlauted characters when using this font.

The main reason for preparing these WORD files and SANSKR.TTF has been
to facilitate the use of the important electronic text on the
computers running the Japanese OS. The original DOS text of van Nooten
and Holland has been practically unusable for the average users (of
DOS, WINDOWS or MAC) here because much of the upper half of the
codepage is reserved for the Japanese characters. The text with font
attribute can be an answer to the problem.

It is hoped that italic, bold, bold-italic styles of SANSKR.TTF will
be ready in the near future.

Needless to say, these files are for non-commercial use only. Users
are allowed to download and use the text for their personal use,
provided that refrence is made to the HOS edition.

At the suggestion of Professor Michael Witzel, the editor of the
Series, I have withdrawn "for the moment" the new metrical text, and
replaced it by the Samhita Text, which is traditionally used and still
of use.

Click HERE to download. ftp://gengo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/pub/Rigveda/

FTP directory /pub/Rigveda/ at gengo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp

To view this FTP site in Windows Explorer, click Page, and then click
Open FTP Site in Windows Explorer.

Welcome to the Department of Linguistics FTP Server.

Up to higher level directory

01/22/1998 12:00AM 2,256 readme.txt
01/22/1998 12:00AM 808,927 samhita.zip

ftp://gengo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/pub/Rigveda/

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Full text of "Faust im Bilde von den ersten Anfängen bis zum
Erscheinen des goetheschen Fragments"
Rudolf Payer von Thum

Faust im Bilde von den
ersten Anfängen bis zum Erscheinen
des Goetheschen Fragments.

FAUST IM BILDE

von den ersten Anfangen bis zum Er-
scheinen des Goetheschen Fragments

von Dr. Rudolf Payer von Thurn.,

Mit 22 Tafeln in Folio.
Ais XXX, XXXI. und XXXII, Band der »Chronik des Witner Go.the-
Vereins*.

Wien 1919.
Verlag des Wiener Goethe -Vereins.

Zur Einführung.

Die vorliegende Arbeit, die zum erstenmal im Juni 1917 als
Vereinsgabe
der Wiener Bibliophilen-Gesellschaft für das Jahr 1916 zur Ausgabe
gelangt und
von der Kritik durchwegs zustimmend aufgenommen worden ist, [Berliner
Tage-
blatt V. 11. Juli 1917, Morgen-Ausg. — Wiener Abendpost v. 24. Juli
1917
(Alex. V. Weilen) — Kunstchronik N. F , XXVIII. Jahrg., Nr. 40, Sp.
469 (Hans
Hetze) — X. Fr. Pr. Nr. 19046 v 30. Aug. 1917 (Hermine Cloeter) —
Zeit-
schrift für Bücherfreunde, Nov.-Dez. 1917, Sp. 427 (Georg Witkowski) —
Studien
u Skizzen zur Gemäkiekunde, III. Band, S. 115 (Th. v. Frimmel) —
Mitteilungen
der Gesellschaft für vervielfältigende Kunst, Beilage der ,,
Graphischen Künste"
1918, Nr. 4, S 61 (Arpäd Weixelgärtner)] erscheint nun auf Grund einer
sciner-
zeitigen Vereinbarung mit dem Vorstande der genannten Gesellschaft
zum
zweitenmal in äußerlich etwas weniger prächtigem Gewände, inhaltlich
aber
erweiterter Form, um den Mitsliedern des Wiener Goethe-Vereins die
bisher nicht
erschienenen Bände XXX, XXXI und XXXII der „Chronik des Wiener
Goelhe-
X'ereins" zu ersetzen.

An den Ergebnissen der Untersuchung brauchte nichts geändert zu
werden.
Abgesehen von einigen kleinen, durch die geänderten Verhältnisse
notwendig
j;ewordenen stilistischen Änderungen wurde zunächst die Anzahl der
aufgezählten
Klätter aus den besprochenen Porträtserien durch einige inzwischen neu
auf-
L^etauchte Bilder vermehrt. Zwei wichtige Ergänzungen, und zwar den
Hinweis
auf das Bild von Rembrandts Vater »bei Bredius im Haag (S. 8) und auf
den
Zusammenhang des van Sichemschen Stiches mit dem Titelholzschnitt des
Volks-
buches von 1588 (S. 13) verdanke ich unserem um die Ikonographie des
Goethe-
schen Faust hochverdienten Obmann-Stellvertreter Professor Dr. R. F.
Arnold.
Neu hinzugekommen ist ferner das mit dem „Faust'' des Moncornet
identische
Bild von Archimedes (Rückseite von Tafel 22 unten, Text S. 12) und die
lustige
Zusammenstellung des Faustkopfes aus Steyr mit den beiden Bischöfen
(Rückseite
von Tafel 22, Text S. 14). Da das Papier für die Lichtdrucke nicht
mehr zu be-
schaffen war, konnte die Anzahl der Tafeln nicht vermehrt werden, es
mußte
zu dem Auskunftsmittel gegriffen werden, die Rückseiten der Tafein 2,
3, 15 u.
-2 zu bedrucken.

Unserer Graphischen Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt, ihrem hochverdienten
Direktor
Hofrat Prof. Dr. L M. Eder und den bewährten Lehrkräften, vor allem
den Herren
Professoren .A.ugust Albert und Karl Broum sowie Herrn Fachlehrer
Alois Pillarz,
die das Zustandekommen auch dieser zweiten Ausgabe in selbstlosester
Weise
ermöglicht haben, gebührt auch diesmal wieder unser wärmster Dank.

Wien, im April 1919.

Dr. Rudoll Payer von Thurn.

Verzeichnis dor Tafeln.

Doctor FaVstvs. Stich nus dem Verla{>c von Fran^oi^
I^ngloit dit de Ciartre». Paris, zwischen 1633 und
1647. Or. : \X*icn, Familien-FideikomiuiU-Bibliothck.

Bfiste eines niederblickenden Greises.
Rail. v.in Jan Joris van Vlict. Bartsch 25. Or. : Wien.
AV

Rück
Unten: i' h i 1 o n le J u i f . !• . I . I» < uirtrcs

excndit. K. H. van Kyn tnv.
Hat über tKembrandts Vater. Ölbild im Fer-
dinandcura in Innsbruck (verkleinert), daneben
Radierung van Vliets nach diesem Bilde.

Baste eines Offiziers. Radierung von Jan
Joriü van Viiet: Bartsch 26. Or. : Wien, Albertina.

Rückseite :
Unten : Rembrandts Vate r.ölb. v.Rembrandt,

im Bes. von Dr. A. Bredius im Haag.
Dat über : Radierung Rembrandts nach
diesem Bilde und (zum Vergleiche von Tafel 2
wiederholt Büste eines niederbückenden Alten (verkl.).

Ruhe der heiligen Familie auf der
Flucht nach Ägypten. Ölbild von Rembrandt.
(Or. : Downton-Castle. England. A . R. Boughton
Knight.) Nach einer Heliogravüre von Fillon et Hcuse.

Judas bringt die Silberlinge zurück.
Ölbild von Rembrandt. Or. : Faiis. Baron A. von
Schickler. Nach einer Heliogravüre von Braun. Cle-
ment et Co. Dabei : „Heraclit* aus dem Verlage :
a; von l*ierre Aubiy in Stratiburg ; b) Remondini in
bassano. Or. : Wien, Familien-Fideikommiß-Bibliothek.

Doctor Faustus. Stich aus dem Verlage von Aubry.
Or.: Wien, Familien-Fideikommiß-Bibliothek.

Faustbuch des Christlich Meynenden.
Frankfurt u. Leipzig. 1725. Or. : Erlangen, Univ.-Bibl.

Doctor Faustus. Titclkupfer zum Fünften Stück der
Bibliothcca, Acta et Scripta Magica, Lemgo, 1739.

a« Doctor Faustus. Steindruck, Titelbild zu:
Doktor Faustos. Tragödie von Christoph Marlowe.
Aus dem Englischen übersetzt von Wilhelm Müller.
Mit einer Vorrede von Ludwig Achim von Arnim.
Berlin, l8i8.0r.: Wien, Sammlung Hofrat Hugo Thimig.
Doctor Faustus nach Rembrandt. Steindruck.
Titelbild: Das Kloster. Von J. Scheible. 2. Band,
Stattgart. 1846.
10. a> Doktor Faust. (Nach Rembrandt.) Holz-
schnitt aus J. J. Webers xyl. Anstalt in Leipzig.
(Deutfche Männer. Bilder aus der Geschichte des
deutschen Volkes von Hermann dem Cherusker bis
auf unsere Tage von Manuel Rascbke, Leipzig und
Tcüchen, 1868, S. 41.) Or. : Wien, Hofbibliothek.
Doctor Johann Faust. I'ortriit nach
Rembrandt. Anon. Holzschnitt aus: Carl
Engel, Das Volksscbauspiel Doctor Johann Faust,
Oldenburg, 1874.

Zenon I'hilosophe. Stich von Daamont in Paris.
18. Jahrb. Or.: Wien, Familien-Fideikommiß-Bibliothek.

Faust, ölminiatur der Ambraser Sammlung. Or. : Wien,
Knnsthistorische Sammlungen.

l.e Doctevr Favste Philosophe Alcinand etc. .Such
von B. Moncoroet. Or. : Wien, Familien- Kideikom-
miü-Bibliothek.

b) Büste eines bartlosen Mannes. Rad. von
Rembrandt. 16 jl, Bartsch 307. Or.: Wien. Hufbibl.

c) N i e d e r b 1 i c k e n d e r K a h 1 k t> p f. R adicruog
von Rembrandt, 1631. Bartsch 296. Or. : Ebenda.

d) Marc Agripe Philosophe Alcmand. Stich von B.
Moncornet. Or.: Wien, Familien-Fideikommiü-Uibl.

14. a) Greis in weitem Samtmantcl. Radierung

von Rembrandt, um 1632. Bartsch 262. (Verkleinert.)

b) J)ivinus Plato. Stich aus dem Verlage von F. Lang-

lois. (Verkl.) Or.: Wien, Familien-Fidcikommiß-Bibl.

Faust in seinem Laboratorium. Rad. von
Rembrandt. 2. Plattenzustand. Bartsch 270. Or. :
Wien, Hof|)ib iothck.
Rückseite: Fran^ois Langlois dit de Char-
t r e s. Marchand Libraire-Imager ä Paris en I645.
Ant. van Dyck Pinxit, J. Pesne Sculp.
Faust in seinem Laboratorium. Stich von
J. H. Lips nach Rembrandt. Or. : Wien, Samm-
lung Felix Schwab.
17. a) Mcphostü phi les-Joan Faustus. Stich von
Christoph van Sichern 1066. Or. : Wien. Albertina,
b) D a s s e 1 b e. Nachstich aus Arnims Zeitung für Ein-
siedler (Trösteinsamkeit), Nr. 3 vom 6. April 1808
18 De Historie van Doctor Johannes Faustus. 1747. Or. :
Wien. Sammlung A. J..ÖW, Bibliothek der Stadt Wien.
IQ. De Historie van Docter Johannes Faustus o. 1. Or. :
Wien, Sammlung A. i.,öw, Bibliothek der Stadt Wien.

20. a) Histoire Prodigicuse et Lamentable de Jean Faust.

Cologne, Chez les Hi-ritiers de Pierre Marteau. 1712:
Or.: Sammlung A. Low, Bibliothek der Stadt Wien.
b) Histor e van Doctor Jan Faustus, Amsterdam, By
Hismanius van de Rumpel, o. I. Or. : Ebenda:

21. a) Doct. Faust, berühmter Schwarzkünstler.

Holz.schnitt einer undatierten Ausgabe des Faust-
buches des Christlich Meynenden. Or. : Wien, Samm-
lung A. Low. Bibliothek der Stadt Witn.
Desgleichen: Or. : Frankfurt a. M., Fr. D. Hocbstitt.
Jakob Herbrand. Professor der Theologie in
Tübingen 1578. Or. : Wien, Familien-Fideikommiß-
Bibliothek.
d) Georg W einrieb, Professor der Theologie in
Leipzig, f 1617. Or. : Ebenda.
Bemalte Terracotta- Büste des 16. Jahrh.

Or. : Wien. Kunsthist. Sammlungen.
Rückseite :
Oben : D o k t o r Faust. Gedruckt in diesem Jahr.
Or. : Histor. Museum der Stadt Steyr; links:
Melchior Otto Voit von Salzburg,
Bischof von Bamberg (1642- 1653); rechts:
Johann Philipp, Freih. v. Schönborn,
Erzbischof von Mainz, f 1673.
Unten: links: Archimedes Siracus, rechts:
Le Docteur FAUSTE PHILOSOPHE Alemaod
(zum Vergleiche wiederholt von Tafel 13 a!.

22.

Sämlli

Alilnlitiinpcii inii Ausnalimp lier Tafeln 4. t. 14 ?1 I) iincl 22
Sind in ( )rli'rM.-ili>Tip|',p «•iit)crjjcRct>cn.

» A^'^ denen bekannten elenden Tragoedien von
*'^* Ihm. hat es Gott lob! ein Ende, da man end-
lich solche einfältige Vorurtheile abgelegt hat, und ver-
nünftigere Vorstellungen liebt. Faust hat es nunmehr
lediglich Rembrandten zu danken, daß seiner noch ge-
dacht wird« — mit diesen Worten schloß einer der
berühmtesten Ärzte des Aufklärungszeitalters, der
spätere Leibarzt Friedrich des Großen Johann Carl
Wilhelm M o e h s e n, das Kapitel >Faust« in seinem
Buch, das im Geschmacke der Zeit den umständlichen
Titel führt: »Verzeichnis einer Sammlung von Bild-
nissen, größtentheils berühmter Ärzte; so wohl in
Kupferstichen, schwarzer Kunst und Holzschnitten, als
auch in einigen Handzeichnungen: diesem sind ver-
schiedene Nachrichten und Anmerkungen vorgesetzt,
die so wohl zur Geschichte der Arzneygelahrtheit, als
vornehmlich zur Geschichte der Künste gehören.«

Gerade über dieser Stelle des verdienstvollen
Buches hat das Schicksal die volle Schale der Ironie
ausgegossen: das Buch ist erschienen bei Christian
Friedrich Himburg in Berlin, demselben Himburg, der
ein paar Jahre später als der erste deutsche Verleger
auf den Gedanken gekommen ist. Alles, was bis dahin
von dem rasch berühmt gewordenen Verfasser des Götz
und des Werther im Druck erschienen war. in drei
Bänden gesammelt dem deutschen Publikum vorzu-
legen. Und zwei Jahre nach dem Erscheinen dieses
Buches konnte Gotter seine poetische Antwort auf
eine derb-lustige Epistel, mit der Goethe ihm im
Juni 1773 den eben erschienenen »Götz« übersendet,
mit den Worten schließen:

»Schick mir dafür den .Doctor Faust*
Sobald Dein Kopf ihn ausgebraust!«'

In der Tat hat sich für den Helden der deutschen
Volksbücher und der Puppenspiele ein ganz bestimmter,
eigenartiger Porträt-Typus herausgebildet, der um die
Mitte des siebzehnten Jahrhunderts — merkwürdig
genug in Paris — entstanden und bis über die Mitte
des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts hinaus in Geltung ge-
blieben ist.

Wie aber kam Rembrandt zu Faust?

Von den großen Malern und Stechern seiner Zeit,
den Dürer und Holbein, den Lukas Cranach und Lucas
von Leyden ebenso wie von ihren minder hervor-
ragenden Kunstverwandten hat uns keiner das Bild
des landfahrenden Gauklers überliefert, dazu schien
er seinen Zeitgenossen viel zu unbedeutend. Erst in
der Zeit von 1634 bis 1647 tauchte in dem damals so
blühenden Kupferstichhandel ein Porträt auf, das über

dem Kopfe des Dargestellten die Bezeichnung »Doctor
Favslvs«, in der linken oberen Ecke vom Beschauer)
die Künstler-Signatur »HRinbrandt Inuentor«, in der
rechten die Verleger-Adresse »F. L. D. Ciartres e.xcudJt«
trägt (Tafel V . Mit diesem Blatte hat sich die Forschung
in den letzten drei Jahrzehnten oft und eingehend be-
schäftigt-). Wenn es ihr trotzdem nicht gelungen ist,
das Dunkel völlig aufzuhellen, das über der Entstehung
desselben lagert, so ist die Ursache darin zu suchen,
daß offenbar allen Abdrücken des sehr seltenen Blattes,
die zum Vergleiche herangezogen worden sind, ein
Merkmal fehlte, das in dem vorzüglich erhaltenen
Exemplar der Habsburg-Lothringischen Familien-Fidei-
kommiß-Bibliothek, das unserer Reproduktion zu
Grunde liegt, zum Ausdruck kommt.

Es ist dies die Nummer 36, die rechts oben dicht
über der Verleger-Adresse mit der kalten Nadel leicht
eingerissen ist. Sie macht uns darauf aufmerksam,
daß wir das Blatt nicht für sich allein, wie dies bis-
her geschehen ist, zu betrachten haben, sondern als
einzelnes Glied einer größeren Serie. Erst wenn es
uns gelungen sein wird, diese Serie ganz oder wenig-
stens zum größeren Teile wieder zusammenzustellen
und die einzelnen Bildnisse mit ihren Urbildern zu
vergleichen, wird auch ein Licht auf unseren Faustkopf
fallen.

Das war nur möglich in der Porträtsammlung der
Familien-Fideikommiß-Bibliothek mit ihrer hier und da
belächelten, etwas altvaterischen Einteilung in »Stände«.
Zu unserem Blatte, das wie die übrigen später zu be-
sprechenden Faust-Bilder in der Abteilung »Ärzte« lag,
vermerkt der Katalog als Stecher den Namen H. David.
Unter den Arbeiten des um 1605 in Paris gebornen
und bis 1670 tätigen Zeichners und Kupferstechers
J^röme (Hieronymus) David verzeichnet nun Le Blanc*^
eine Folge von 36 Blättern: ttTetes de Phihiopha*.
Unser »Faust« trägt eben die Nummer 36! Ich ging
also die Abteilung »Philosophen» durch und fand in
ganz gleicher Plattengröße und Ausführung mit der
Verlegerfirma F. L. D. Ciartres e.xcudit versehen noch
folgende Blätter:

EwpedocUi Philo^ophti^ . . . \'r /S

.■Irchimtdes Siracus

Diogenes .... -/

Divinus Plato .'2

Socrates i"*

-' •

Thomas Morus . j'i

Philon le Juij .

Democritus \' ;

_2 Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.

Außerdem ohne Nummer: sich nun eine Reihe von Radierungen, die die \
I'/iunufH* ii* la h' V lagen für folgende Porträts der Serie des
Ciat ,
J/trtiittttis. bildet haben: Fol. 89 {i: llunuqut ,it la Ktyi.
Makffmtt. Jates), Fol. 90 (Philon), Fol. 91 {.X/ahomef), Fe
Ammaeus StHfta mios. Stntiti {Arisfottlo), Fol. 93 {//eraililus), Fol.
94 {Dtn4o, .
und In der Hofbibliothek : Keines dieser Blätter, die durchwegs aus
den Jahren 1 u ^
Aristoteles. Und 1634 datiert sind, trägt jedoch den Namen des Dirge
Diese Folge von 36 Porträtköpfen scheint aber stellten. Auf
RembrandtischeOriglnal-RadierunKcn
doch keineswegs auf »Philosophen« beschränkt ge- gehen nur zwei
Blätter zurück: »Plato« auf den Un-
wesen zu sein, denn in ganz gleicher Plattengroße im weiten
Sammtmantel (Klassiker der Kunst VII:
und Ausführung fanden sich unter den »Königen«: S. 136) und »Thomas
Morus« auf den ersten Orier:
Geoffroy a la Grand Dent de Lusignan . . Nr. 2 talenkopf (Ebenda S.
238). Für die vier restliche;

Dionisius Tirannus Siracusa [sie] »6 Blätter läßt sich nicht eine R a
d i er u n g Rembrandt

Barbaroussa Rex Algerii Insignis Pirata . . » 8 oder van Vliets,
sondern je ein Ölbild Remhrandts

Magnus Tamerlanus »9 als Vorlage nachweisen, und zwar für »Diogenes«
das

Cirus Pers. Rex »13 Bildnis eines alten Mannes (König Saul?) im
Besitze

Atabalipa Rex Peruviae . » 16 von Quincy A. Shaw in Boston (Klassiker
der Kunst

II Re de Fez et Marocco . » 17 II. S. 363), für »Gaston de Foix« das
Bildnis eines

Solimannus Turcarum Imperator »24 jungen Mannes bei Charles Sedelmeyer
in Paris. (Eben-

Saladinus Suitanus »25 da S. 145). für »Democrit« das Selbstbildnis im
Haager

Scandrebec Roy d'albanie »29 Museum (Ebenda S. 26) und für den
Kämmerer der

Gasto Foisseivs »30 Königin Candace die Selbstbildnisse in Cassel und

und ohne Nummer: Gotha. (Ebenda S. 27). Lediglich bei unserem »Faus'

Athila Flagellum Dei, und bei »Heraclit« gestaltet sich das Verhältnis
zum

II Gran Mogor, und Rembrandtischen Original ein wenig anders, wie wir

Paracouissi Rex Plattae. weiter unten sehen werden.

Auf diese Weise wäre es uns gelungen, von den Die Platten der Vorlagen
sind durchwegs größer,

36 Blättern, aus denen die Serie bestehen soll, 27 zu- als das
einheitliche Format der Platten in der Serie

sammenzubringen. des Ciartres. Diese wieder verhalten sich zu ihren

Fünf: Geoffroy de Lusignan, Barbaroussa, Ata- Vorlagen »en contre-
partie«, d. h., der Stecher, der die

balipa, Socrates und Saladlnus weisen die Stecher- van Vlietischen
Vorlagen kopierte, hatte natürlich einen

Signatur I David F. auf. Abdruck vor sich; wenn er denselben Strich
für

Genau ein Dutzend davon geht in letzter Linie Strich auf der unter
seiner Hand liegenden Kupfer-
auf Remb-andtische Originale zurück. Dieser Umstand platte
nachbildete, kam der Abdrock von seiner
ist — mit einer einzigen Ausnahme (bei »Plato«) — P'a^te natürlich
verkehrt heraus. Wenn ein Kopf bei
in der linken oberen Ecke des Blattes durch die Sig- van Vliet nach
rechts sah, so sah er in der Nach-
natur IRinbrandt Inuentot, oder IR inuent. ausgedrückt, blldung nach
links und umgekehrt.
Es sind dies: Aristoteles, Dioi^enes, Plato, Thomas Monis. Die Serie
des Ciartres scheint bei den Zeitgenossen
Philan. Demochhu, L'Eunuqiu de la Keyne de Candaces, Beifall gefunden
ZU haben, denn sie wurde bald in Italien
lleracliius, Mahomet . Scatidrebeg. Gasto Foisseins und nachgedruckt.
Vor mir Hegt eine Reihe von Blättern
/•atut. Die Hälfte davon ist jedoch nicht direkt nach in etwas
abweichender Plattengröße (237:170 mm)
Rembrandtischen Originalen hergestellt, sondern nach und bedeutend
roherer Ausführung des Kupferstiches
Blättern, die Rembrandts Schüler van Vliet nach Origi- mit
italienischer Namensform und einigen italienischen
naien seines Meisters radiert hat. Jan Georg üoris) Versen unter dem
Bilde, welche die Persönlichkeit des
van Vliet ist angeblich um 1610 zu Delft geboren. Dargestellten zu
charakterisieren suchen. Einzelne der-
arbeitete 1631 noch in Leiden in Rembrandts Atelier selben tragen am
unteren Plattenrande die Stecher-
nach dessen Zeichnungen, und seine Blätter sind, so Signatur Cio :
Suiuro /uit und die Verleger-Adresse
lange er unter Rembrandts Leitung stand, von größter »/« Passano per
il Rtmondiui.*'')

Feinheit und kaum von den Radierungen des Meisters Von dieser
Italienischen Serie besitzt die Familien-

zu unterscheiden. Seine späteren Arbeiten tragen jedoch Fideikommiß-
Bibliothek eine größere Anzahl von

eine Brutalität zur Schau, die eine vollständige künst- Blättern.
Außer den auch bei Ciartres vorkommenden

leiische und psychische Dekadenz vermuten läßt«) »Philosophen«
Democritus, Heraclitus, Mahomet

In dem Bande »van Vliet« der Hofbibliothek findet und den Königen und
Feldherren Dionisius. Gasi

Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.

Fosseio (dieser sogar von zwei verschiedenen Platten),
Barbaroussa, Cirus, Atabatipa und Paracou-
issi finden sich hier noch die in unserem offenbar
unvollständigen Exemplar der Ciartres-Serie nicht ver-
tretenen, in vollständigen E.xemplaren aber doch wohl
vorhandenen »Philosophen« Crate Filosofo, Deme-
trlo Falereo, Esopo Frigio, Pytagoras und die
Könige« Gotofridus Bullionius Rex Jerusalem.
Nangazachi Rex Japo"', II GRN Nogay di
Persia, M. Cham Rex Tartarie und schließlich
ein Blatt mit der etwas rätselhaft klingenden Über-
schrift Josef Justs, das aber, wie aus den Versen
darunter hervorgeht, offenbar niemanden anderen als
den ägyptischen Josef darstellen soll. Dadurch erhöht
sich die Zahl der aus der französischen Serie festge-
stellten Porträts auf 36. Dasjenige Porträt aber, das
uns hier am meisten interessieren würde, unser »Faust«,
findet sich, wenigstens in unserer Sammlung, leider
nicht darunter. Den Weg über die Alpen scheint der
nordische Wanderer nicht gefunden zu haben.

Diese italienischen Blätter verhalten sich zu ihren
Vorlagen, den Blättern des Ciartres, naturgemäß wieder
»en contre-partie«, sehen also wieder nach derselben
Richtung, wie die van Vlietischen Originale,

Außerdem sind mir noch einzelne Blätter, z. B.
Scanderbec und Thomas Morus — wieder von anderen
Platten — mit lateinischer Legende untergekommen,
ja sogar zwei der Köpfe iDemocrit und Heradit) auf
einer Platte vereinigt mit englischen Versen darunter
und der Stecher-Signatur ly. Hollar sc. und der Ver-
leger-Adresse 'Sou/J hy John Querton, Newgate.^

Bevor wir nun auf dasjenige Blatt näher ein-
gehen, um dessen Willen wir die ganze Serie wieder-
herzustellen versucht haben, müssen wir die Person
des Verlegers, dem die ursprüngliche Serie ihre Ent-
stehung und Benennung verdankt, etwas näher ins
Auge fassen.

Fran^ois Langlois dit Ciartres war am
12. Mai 1588 zu Chartres, der Hauptstadt des Herzog-
tums Orleans geboren. Er reiste in Frankreich, Eng-
land, Italien, etablierte sich 1633 in Paris und war
bald ein vielbeschäftigter Kunsthändler und Agent
König Karl I. Auch als ausübender Musiker scheint
er sich einen Namen erworben zu haben '^^). Am
14. Jänner 1647 verzeichnet die Pfarr-Matrik von
St. Benoit in Paris: »Fran^ois Langlois, dit de Chartres,
inourut en son logis rue St. Jacques, pr^s le Mathurins,
vivant marchand de taille douce«^). Kein Geringerer
als Anton van Dyk hat uns sein Porträt, und zwar
in der Verkleidung eines dudelsackspielenden Savo-
yarden überliefert*). (Vgl. die Rückseite von Tafel 15).

Die Renaissance mit ihrem Ku't der Persönlichkeit
hat im Laufe des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts, begünstigt

durch die fortschreitende Entwicklung und Verbreitung
des Kupferstiches, eine Reihe von Porttätwerken ge-
schaffen. In deren Mittelpunkt naturgemäß die viel-
bewunderten und nachgeahmten griechischen Philo-
sophen standen. Diesen angereiht zu werden, war eine
der größten Auszeichnungen, die einem Zeitgenossen
widerfahren konnte. Welche Verbreitung und welche
Bedeutung die Faustsage im Bewußtsein der mittel-
europäischen Kulturwelt innerhalb eines Jahrhunderts
gewonnen hat, geht wohl am besten daraus hervor,
daß der landfahrende Geselle, über den seine Zeit-
genossen in Deutschland sich durchwegs mit unver-
hohlener Geringschätzung äußern, etwa ein Jahrhundert
nach seinem Tode in die Gesellschaft von Königen
und Weisen Eingang gefunden hat. Und daß dies
weit über den Grenzen seines deutschen Vaterlandes,
im tonangebenden Paris, geschehen ist, erhöht die
Bedeutung dieser Auszeichnung.

Woher aber nahm der rührige Pariser Verleger
ein Bild des deutschen Doktors?

An Stelle der veralteten und vergriffenen Porträt-
serien des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts wollte Langlois
dem Publikum seiner Zeit eine neue vorlegen, die
sowohl in Bezug auf die künstlerische Ausführung
wie auf die Wahl der darzustellenden Persönlichkeiten
dem veränderten Zeitgeschmacke entgegenkommen
sollte. Wie ging er zu diesem Zwecke bei der Aus-
wahl seiner Originale vor? Merkwürdig genug! Er
nahm einfach eine Anzahl jener radierten Studienköpfe,
die ihm damals der Kunsthandel aus den Niederlanden
zuführte, und ließ sie durch seinen Stecher auf ein
einheitliches Plattenformat übertragen. Eine Reihe von
ehrwürdigen Greisenköpfen mit langen Barten konnte
ganz gut für die griechischen Weltweisen passieren
Ohne Bedenken schrieb unser Mann also flott über
den einen Kopf den Namen Empedocles, über einen
anderen Socrates, Plato, usw. Ein Kopf der — aller-
dings recht widerlich — lachte, war natürlich der
lachende Democrit, und mit Grazie so fort. Wenn wir
unserem rührigen Verleger auf dem van Dykschen
Porträt in sein schalkhaft blinzelndes Mephisto-Gesicht
sehen, möchten wir ihm solch eine kecke Mystifikation
seiner Zeitgenossen ganz wohl zutrauen.

Und doch war das, was er getan hat, im letzten
Grunde eigentlich nichts als ein allerdings recht ver-
späteter Ausläufer mittelalterlicher Geschichtsauffab-
sung, die das Individuelle vollständig übersah und
nur auf das Typische ausging. Ein klassisches Beispiel
hiefür bietet uns Harlmann Schedels >Buch der Croniken
und geschichten mit figuren und pildnussen von anbegin
der weit bis auf dise unsere zeit«, Nürnberg 1493, das
Dürers Lehrer Michael Wohlgemuth mit prächtigen
Holzschnitten geziert hat, und aus dem noch ein Jahr-

Chronik des Wiener Goeme-vereins XXX-, XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.

hundert später der Verfasser des Spiesischen Faust-
buches seine historischen und geographischen Kennt-
nisse geschöpft hat. Der Herausgeber bringt, seinem
weitausgreifenden Programm gemäß, eine zahllose
Menge von historischen Porträts aus allen Epochen
der Weltgeschichte, verfügt aber nur über eine ganz
beschränkte Anzahl von Holzstöcken. Wie hilft er sich
nun aus dieser Klemme? Er verwendet einfach ein
und dasselbe Klischee für alle möglichen Leute: Das-
selbe Bild, das auf S. XXXVI! als Paris von Troja
bezeichnet ist, begegnet uns auf S. XLIX als der
Prophet Micheas, auf S. LX als Epimenides. auf S.LXIX
als Neemias, und so fort, ein anderes Klischee muß
für Agamemnon, Blas, Sokrates, Demosthenes und
Graf Albrecht zu Babenberg gelten. Nicht anders geht
noch fast ein Jahrhundert später Heinrich Pantaleon
in seinen >Teutscher Nation Warhafften Helden«,
Basel 1568-1578, vor.

^ Die Vorlagen, die Ciartres sich für seine Portät-
köpfe wählte, tragen keinerlei Bezeichnung der dar-
gestellten Person, sie sind lediglich Studienköpfe. Sie
sind, wie eingangs erwähnt, durchwegs größer als die
Nachstiche des Ciartres mit zwei Ausnahmen: den
Vorlagen für »Stan,/tyfieg Kay if Albaniet (Tafel 3) und
für unseren »Faust« (Tafel 2). Diese beiden Blätter
stehen einander in jeder Beziehung am nächsten. Sie
sind von genau gleicher Plattengröße und weisen auch
in der Technik die innigste Verwandtschaft auf. In
den Katalogen wurden sie seit jeher unmittelbar neben
einander angeführt'), aber nur der älteste Katalog von
Amade de Burgy (1755) bezeichnet p. 24 unser Blatt

unter Nr. 178 als >Het Portret van Doctor /'aiistus met

<fn kanl Hoofj eii een Mantel om*. Pierre Yver beschreibt

"S in selneni ^Supplement Au Catalogue Raisonn'. de J/_

' Gersaint, Helle et Ghmy, De Toutes Les Pieces Qti

prment r Oeuvre de Rimbrandtn (Amsterdam 1756), 5.123

mit folgenden Worten : »^v. idQ. 'Ute de l'iuilard en

BmsU, vu* de face et rega*dent vers le bat. E'le est chaitve
"f ptrtie, tt Porte une grande moustacke sur la levre sii-
rieure, avec un fetit tollet h ftntour du ctl. Set deux
oreillts sont dicouvtrttt , et le corps est enveloppe d'un
mamleau. ouvert par devamt. Presque dans la haut de la
•^oitt de FEstampe, on voit ecrit Rt, in. Ce Morceau parte
Nmees 6 tignes de haut^ sur 4 pouces lO lignes de large ■
■ OH prittnd en Hollande, que c'est le Portrait du Dictiur
Faustus. Pour moi Je eroit que M. de Burgy s'est tromp:,
lorsqu'il a plate ce Moreeau au rang des Ouvrages de la
main de Rembrandt, parct qu'il me paroit gravi par van
Vliet. Jl y a une Ccpie de ce Morceau en contre partie de
rOrginal, matt heaueoup plus grande, oü Fon voit icrit
au dessus de la tite, Doctor Faustus, Dans le coin
du htut de la droite om lit Remhrandt inventor , et a
gauche F. L. D. Ciartres exeud. Sa hauteur est de ~ pouces
sn hrnri ft <a iargeur de 6 pouces Q tignes.*

Die Bezeichnung dieses Blattes als Doktor Faustus
beruht also, wie schon Szamat<')lski, S. XXllI, Anm. 2,
ausgesprochen hat, auf einer Rückwirkung des Nach-
stiches von Ciartres. Später verschwindet sie aus den
Katalogen volständig'").

Die ausführlichste Beschreibung der einzelnen
Plattenzustände dieser beiden van Vlietischen Studien-
köpfe enthält ein Aufsatz von J. F. Linck in Robert
Naumanns Archiv für die zeichnenden Künste, 5. Jahr-
gang, 1859: Bemerkungen und Zusätze zu dem Ver-
zeichnisse von Bartsch über die Radierungen des Jan
Georg van Vliet, S. 289:

»B. 25. Brustbild eines niederblickenden Alten [d. i.
das Urbild unseres , Faust-]. Nach Rembrandt
I. Weniger bearbeitet und vor der Adresse. Selten.
II. Ebenfalls vor der Adresse, aber in den Haaren,
den beiden Ohren, sowie der rechten Seite des
Gesichtes und des Mantels bedeutend mit dem
Grabstichel retuschiert.
III. Mit der Adresse des J. de Ram.
B. 26. Brustbild eines Offiziers [d. i. .Scanderbeg' des
Ciartres]. Nach Rembrandt.
I. Vor aller Adresse. Selten.
II. Mit der Adresse von J. de Ram.

III. Die Künstlernamen und die Adresse sind be-
seitigt und die Platte retuschiert worden. Man
liest außerhalb derselben, 9 Linien vom unteren
Rande entfernt, den mit großen lateinischen
Lettern gedruckten Namen: Georgius Ragocy.
Selten.

IV. Die gedruckte Unterschrift ist der Platte näher
und nur 4 Linien von derselben entfernt; man
liest jetzt: Georgius Ragocy, Dei gratiae Prin-
ceps Transilvaniae, Partium Regni Hungariae
Dominum, et Siculorum Comes etc. t'Amster-
dam. Gedruckt by Hugo Allardt, in de Kalver-
straet in de Werelt-Kaert. Die Abdrücke der
Kupferplatte sind sehr schwach.^

Der Verfasser unterläßt es leider anzugeben, w o
er die einzelnen Abdrücke gesehen hat. Aus anderen
Quellen wissen wir, daß sich solche in Wien (Alber-
tina, Hofbibliothek, 1. Zustand), Berlin i'Kgl. Kupfer-
stichkabinett), Amsterdam und im Britischen Museum "i
finden. Ob die Pariser Nationalbibliothek das Blatt
besitzt, läßt sich bei den unzulänglichen Angaben im
Kataloge von Georges Duplessis (Teil III, S. 350: -En
buste, de face. Grav. au burin anonyme«) nicht ent-
scheiden. Außerdem dürfte es noch in anderen öffent-
lichen und Privatsammlungen vorkommen '-). Ein Ab-
druck unseres Faustkopfes mit" der Adresse von J. de
Ram (um 1680 in Holland geboren) ist mir nicht be-
kannt geworden.

Aus den Angaben Lincks sehen wir, daß ein und
dasselbe Original von dem einen Verleger als eine

Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.

ganz bestimmte historische Persönlichkeit ausgegeben
wird, was aber einen andern durchaus nicht hindert,
demselben Blatte eine ganz andere Bezeichnung bei-
zulegen. Den zwei Bezeichnungen als »Ragocy« stehen
drei als »Scanderbeg« (bei Ciartres, in der italienischen
Serie des Remondini und in einer Serie mit lateinischem
Te.xt) gegenüber. Der von der ungarischen Akademie
der Wissenschaften in der Sammlung Magyar Törteneti
Eletrajzok »Ungarische historische Lebensbeschrei-
bunger.) herausgegebenen Biographie Georg I. Rdköczys
von Ale.xander Szilägyi (Budapest 1893 ist unsere
Radierung als wirkungsvolles Titelbild beigegeben.
Im Anhange auf S. 421 findet sich ein kleiner Exkurs
Qber das Bild, in welchem nicht der leiseste Zweifel
an der Identität der dargestellten Person laut wird.
So ausgerüstet, können wir nun an die einge-
hendere Befrachtung unseres Faustbildes, und zwar
zunächst in dem Archetypus der van Viietischen Ra-
dierung, herantreten.

In dem umfangreichen Werke Rembrandts, das
der Russe Dmitri Rovinski mit großer Sorgfalt ge-
sammelt und verzeichnet hat, finden sich mehrere
kleine radierte Skizzen, die niederblickende Greisen-
köpfe mit schütterem Haupt- und Barthaar darstellen,
keiner darunter aber kann als die Vorlage unseres
Faustbildes angesprochen werden"). Erweckt dieser
Umstand schon von Haus aus ein gewisses Mißtrauen
gegen die Signatur Rt. in., so wird dieses noch ver-
stärkt, wenn wir den unbeholfenen Zug der Buch-
staben schärfer ins Auge fassen und mit der charakte-
ristischen eigenhändigen Signatur van Vliets auf der
Ragocy^- oder »Scanderbeg«-Platte vergleichen, die
in gleicher oder ähnlicher Form auf allen Blättern des
Künstlers wiederkehrt. Diese Beobachtung zwingt uns
zur Annahme, daß die ursprüngliche Signatur von der
Platte abgeschliffen und viel später durch die gegen-
wärtige ersetzt worden ist, ein Vorgang, den Linck ja
auch an der »Ragocyc-Platte festgestellt hat.

Daß das Blatt von der Hand van Vliets herrührt,
dafür haben wir, solange nicht ein Abdruck mit der
Signatur auftaucht, keinen anderen Beweis als die
genaue Übereinstimmung mit der deutlich signierten
»Ragocy«-Platte.

Was wir bisher von der Entstehung der ganzen
Serie und der Art, wie die einzelnen Köpfe zu ihren
Benennungen gekommen sind, ermitteln konnten,
mahnt uns also von vornherein zur äußersten Vorsicht,
und doch treffen gerade auf unseren Faustkopf einige
Merkmale zu, die eine gewisse Verbindung mit dem
Volksbuche herzustellen scheinen.

Von dem Titanengeiste, der da >name an sich
Adlers Flügel, wolte alle Grund am Himmel vnd Erden
erforschen«, ist in dem verhärmten Gesichte allerdings

nicht eine Spur zu entdecken. »Der tief zwischen den
abfallenden Schultern sitzende rundliche Kopf, das
runzlige Gesicht und die hoffnungslos, ausdruckslos
starrenden Augen, der spärliche Schnurrbart, kurz das
ganze kleinliche Alltagsgesicht, der schlichte Radmantel
und die kümmerliche, gefältelte Halskrause, das alles
stimmt eher zum Mitleid mit der traurigen Gestalt als
zur Bewunderung oder auch nur zur Teilnahme für
ihren Kummer. Das spärliche Haar, das schon fast
ganz kahle Vorderhaupt verstärken den Eindruck eher
noch. An einem Übermaß an Freuden leidet dieser
Griesgram sicher nicht; aber diese Furchen sind nicht
beim verzweifelten Grübeln über die Lösung des
Weltenrätsels entstanden. Vielleicht entstammen sie
einer wüsten Jugend, vielleicht jahrelangem Verdruß
über das Mißgeschick des Lebens.« ")

»Dieser Mann mit dem furchtsamen Ausdruck
auf der Oberlippe würde nie mit dem Bösen einen
Pakt geschlossen haben oder doch fünf Minuten spätem
von der Abmachung zurückgetreten sein, und mit
dieser dünnen, heiseren Stimme gesprochen, wären
die Worte, welche die Pforten der Hölle zu erschüttern
vermögen, nicht sehr eindrucksvoll gewesen'*).«

Steht somit der Gesamteindruck des Bildes ge-
radezu im direkten Widerspruch gegen die Vorstellung
von dem verwegenen Abenteurer, die uns das Volks-
buch vermittelt, so erfordert doch die folgende Tat-
sache eine ernste Erwägung:

Über die äußere Erscheinung Fausts enthalten
die Volksbücher keine Andeutung, mit einer einzigen
Ausnahme: In der Bearbeitung des Spiesischen Volks-
buches durch den Schwaben Rudolf Widmann (1599)
lautet eine Stelle im 21. Kapitel, »Doctor Faustus
erscheint nach seinem Tode*, folgendermaßen:
»So sahen auch die Nachbarn herumb den Geist des
Doct. Fausti bey nacht offtmals in seiner behausung
an dem fenster liegen, vnd sonderlich wann der Mond
schien. Er gieng in seiner behausung gantz leibhafftig.
wie er auff Erden gegangen war, mit allerley gestaldt
vnd kleydung. Dann Doctor Faustus war ein hock-
ruckerigs Männlein, eine dürre Person, habend ein
kleines grauwes bärtlein . . .**)«.

Interessant ist, daß diese Stelle n u r in der ver-
hältnismäßig sehr seltenen Widmannischen Bearbeitung,
und weder früher in der ursprünglichen Spiesischen
Ausgabe, noch später in der Pfitzerischen Bearbeitung,
durch die Widmanns Buch bald abgelöst wurde, mehr
vorkommt. Sie wurde zuerst von Erich Schmidt mit
unserem Bilde in Verbindung gebracht in der weite
kultur- und literaturgeschichtliche Ausblicke eröff-
nenden Abhandlung >Faust und das 16. Jahrhundert«^
die seither in die »Charakteristiken« aufgenommen
worden ist.

Chronik des Wiener Goethe- Vereins XXX, XXXI. u. XXXU. Bd.

»Anders«, heilit es dort, »gibt sich das zweite
Blatt, und so mag der historische Faust (der nach
Widmans Schiußcapitel dem Famulus Waiger als ein
.hochruckerigs Männlein, eine dürre Person, habend
ein kleines grawes Bärtlein' erschien) wohl ungefähr
ausgesehen haben: eine derbe, untersetzte Figur^
deren Kopf in den Schultern steckt, denn dei kurze
Hals wird ganz von dem Spitzenkragen verdeckt, mit
spärlichem getirgelten Haar, Schnurr- und Knebelbart
und einem confiscirten Gesicht, aus welchem ein
paar schelmische Augen gar durchtrieben in die Welt
gucken*. Sowet Erich Schmidt. Man könnte sogar
noch einen Schritt weiter gehen und behaupten, der
etwas sonderbar anmutende dreieckige Umriß und der
gesenkte Kopf sei dadurch entstanden, daß Faust
dargestellt ist, wie er nach der Angabe Widmanns^
mit beiden Ellbogen auf das Fensterbrett gestützt (an
dem Fenster liegend), auf die Straße hinabsieht.

Die schelmischen Augen, die gar durchtrieben in
die Welt gucken, finden sich allerdings auf unserem
Bilde rieht, es iit e4ier ein melancholischer Blick, mit
dem Urs dieser armselige Wicht anglotzt. Als Erich
Schmidt diesen Salz niederschrieb (1882 im 3. Bande
des Goethe-Jahrbuches, S. 96), hatte noch kein Faust-
Forscher dieses angeblich Rembrandtische Original
gesehen, das Szamatölski erst 1891 ans Licht gezogen
hat. Schmidts Bemerkung kann sich also nur auf eine
der zahlreichen Nachbildungen des neunzehnten Jahr-
hunderts, etwa die zu Karikaturen verzerrten Kopien
bei Scheible oder Engel beziehen (Tafel 9 und 10).

Außer dieser Stelle findet sich aber bei Widmann,
und wieder n u r bei ihm, noch eine zweite indirekte
Schilderung des äußeren Menschen Fausts. die die
früher angezogene btelle ergänzt tnd bestätigt. Au
diese hat zuerst Kiesewetter in seinem seltsamen Buche
»Faust in der Geschichte und Tradition«, Leipzig 1893,
S. 60, aufmerksam gemacht. Ich zitiere sie hier voll-
ständiger als Kiesewetter, und zwar nach dem Ab-
drucke in Scheibles »Kloster«, II, S. 521 f., weil sie noch
ein zweites Moment enthält, das hier in Betracht kommt:

»Als er nun auff solchem platz [in der Reichs-
stadt Schwäbisch Hall] auff vnd nieder spatzieren
gieng, sein etliche Sieder fürOber gangen, vnd sint
auff das gehengk, so vber das wasser gemacht worden,
gestiegen, vnd atda Stil gestanden, den Faustum an-
gesehen vnd jhr gespött getrieben, denn es ist vmb
die Sieder ein solches voick, wie in solcher Stadt ein
sprichwordt ist, das, wenn Christus Selbsten solt durch
das Hall gehen, er ohn gespött oder unbeschissen
nicht daruon kommen würd, also wiederfuhr es dem
D. Fausto auch, denn einer sagt, wer jst dieser klein
hockendt Mann, der ander antwortet, es ist der Esopus,
der dritte sagt, es ist der Bandelstrobel . . .«

Die Vorstellung des Buckeligen wird hier noch
verstärkt durch den Vergleich mit dem griechischen
Fabeldichter Aesop, dessen Werk durch die Bearbei-
tungen des Ulmer Stadtarztes Heinrich Stainhoewel
1 1475^1 und des ehemaligen Franziskaners Burkhard
Waldis (1548") im sechzehnten Jahrhundert In Deutsch-
land verbreitet war. Auf dem Titelholzschnitte des
»Buch und Leben des hochberühmten Fabeldichters
Aesop« von Stainhoewel (Ulm, Johannes Zainer, 1475 ,
ist der Dichter nach der mittelalterlichen, auf Maximus
Planudes zurückgehenden Überlieferung als buckliger
Zwerg dargestellt").

Wenn wir diese allerdings etwas dürftigen An-
deutungen über Fausts äußere Erscheinung zusammen-
fassen und auf unser radiertes Blältchen zu über-
tragen suchen, möchte es uns fast bedünken, als ob
gerade in diesem Falle der gute Ciartre's etwas ge-
wissenhafter als bei den übrigen Blättern seiner Serie
zu Werke gegangen wäre und etwas wie eine wirk-
liche Charakteristik der darzustellenden Persönlichkeit
angestrebt hätte. Freilich steht dieser Annahme ent-
gegen, daß zu seiner Zeit wohl das Spiesische Volks-
buch, nicht aber die Widmannische Bearbeitung des-
selben in französischer und holländischer Übersetzung
vorlag.

Ein ganz anderes Ansehen erhält die Sache je-
doch, wenn wir die Berechtigung der Signatur *Rt in.^
eingehender prüfen und das Rembrandtische Original
festzustellen suchen, das Joris van Vliet als Vorlage für
seine Radierung benutzt hat. Unter den selbständigen
Porträt- und Studienköpfen Rembrandts in Öl oder in
Radierung findet sich kein einziger, der ohneweiters
als identisch mit unserem »Faust« bezeichnet werden
könnte, dagegen stimmt Form und Ausdruck des
Gesichtes, vor allem aber die merkwürdige, unver-
ständliche Haltung des Körpers genau mit der Gestalt
des Närrvaters Joseph auf dem in englischem Privat-
besitz befindlichen, auf Eichenholz gemalten, 0765 m
hohen und 0*640 m breiten Bilde Rembrandts »Ruhe
der heiligen Familie auf der Flucht nach Ägypten«
überein. Leider kann ich das Bild auf Tafel 4 nur
nach der Heliogravüre von Fillon et Heuse in Wilhelm
Bodes und C. Hofstede de Groots großem Rembrandt-
Werk in Lichtdruck vorlegen und den van Vtietischen
Studienkopf in entsprechender Verkleinerung und Um-
kehrung danebenstelien'*). Wäre heute nicht jede Ver-
bindung mit England abgeschnitten, würde ich gern
einen Ausschnitt aus dem Bilde, nämlich die Büste
des heiligen Joseph, in Originalgröße wiedergeben.
Vielleicht ist übrigens die Zeit doch nicht mehr gar zu
ferne, in der ein Austausch geistiger Interessen unter
den Völkern, die sich noch bis vor kurzem auf Tod
und Leben bekämpften, wieder möglich sein wird.

Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd

Dann soll der Versuch gemacht werden, den Besitzern
der vorliegenden Mappe diese Tafel nachzuliefern. Aus
ihr würde sich höchstwahrscheinlich ergeben, was sich
vorläufig nur durch eine auf ur zu verlässige Messungen
an der Reproduktion gegründete Proportion erschließen
läßt: daß der van Vlietische Studienkopf mit dem
Kopf'des heiligen Joseph auf dem Bilde sogar in der
Gröüe übereinstimmt. Daß er nach links gewendet ist,
während er auf dem Bilde nach rechts sieht, kann nach
dem, was wir auf S. 2 über die Nachbildungen in
Kupferstich erfahren haben, die Annahme der Ab-
hängigkeit nur bekräftigen.

Auch die Zeitfolge bietet keine Schwierigkeit,
denn die Flucht nach Ägypten ist nach Bode um 1630
entstanden, während der angebliche »Ragocy« oder
»Scanderbeg« van Vliets, der das Gegenstück zu dem
undatierten »Faust« bildet und also doch wohl gleich-
zeitig entstanden ist, auf der Originalplatte Tafel 3)
die Jahreszahl 1632 trägt.

Jetzt wird auf den ersten Blick so manches klar,
was bis dahin unerklärlich schien: das kummervolle
Antlitz des Nährvaters, der die Seinigen nur durch
rasche Flucht dem drohenden Verderben zu entziehen
vermag, der gesenkte Blick, denn er liest in einem
Buche, und die einseitige Haltung, denn er stützt seinen
linken Arm auf einen Felsblock, der gleichzeitig der
Gottesmutter zum Sitze dient.

Wenn ungeachtet der zahlreichen Obereinstim-
mungen noch ein Zweifel übrigbleiben sollte, ob Joseph
wirklich das Urbild des sogenannten »Faust« abge-
geben hat, so wird dieser Zweifel durch die Tatsache
zerstreut, daß der sonderbare Vorgang, den wir hier
beobachtet haben, durchaus nicht ganz vereinzelt da-
steht, sondern sich zur selben Zeit unter ganz gleichen
Verhältnissen wiederholt hat: aus demRembrandtischen
Bilde »Judas bringt die Silberlinge zurück« ist die
Gestalt des Judas in ihrer ungemein charakteristischen
Körperhaltung auf dem Umwege über van Vliet in die
Porträtserie des Ciartres und in jene des Aubry über-
gegangen. Hier aber muß sie den »weinenden Philo-
sophen« Heraklit (im Gegensatze zum »lachenden«
Demokrit' darstellen (Tafel 5)!")

In dem dritten Falle dagegen, in welchem ein
einzelner Kopf aus einem größeren Bilde Rembrandts
herauskopiert wurde, ist die Bezeichnung der darge-
stellten Person beibehalten worden: aus dem Bilde:
Joseph, seine Träume erzählend (in der Galerie Six
zu Amsterdam, Klassiker der Kunst, II, S. 175) Ist der
Kopf des Joseph in seiner vornübergehängten Haltung
in die Serie des Ciartres und von da in die italienische
des Romandini übergegangen.

Nun wird uns erst ein Ausspruch Goethes in der
Abhandlung »Über Leonard da Vincis Abendmahl«")

in seiner vollen Bedeutung klar: »Man bediente sich
mancher Figuren zu ganz anderm Zweck, als sie der
erste Urheber bestimmt hatte. Weltliche Gegenstände
wurden durch einige Zutaten in geistliche verwandelt;
heidnische Götter und Helden mußten sich bequemen,
Märtyrer und Evangelisten zu sein. Oft auch hatte der
Künstler zu eigner Belehrung und Übung irgend eine
Figur aus einem berühmten Werk kopiert und setzte
nun etwas von seiner Erfindung hinzu, um ein ver-
käufliches Bild daraus zu machen. Zuletzt darf man
auch wohl der Entdeckung und dem Mißbrauch der
Kupferstiche einenTeil des Kunstverderbens zuschreiben,
welche den Dutzendmalern fremde Erfindungen häufig
zubrachten, so daß niemand mehr studierte und die
Malerei zuletzt so weit verfiel, daß sie mit mechanischen
Arbeiten vermischt ward. Waren doch die Kupferstiche
selbst schon von den Originalen verschieden, und wer
sie kopierte, vervielfachte die Veränderung nach eigener
und fremder Überzeugung oder Grille.« Was dabei
für unser Faustbild herauskam, werden die folgenden
Tafeln zeigen.

Wenn wir den Nachstich aus dem Verlage des
Ciartres (Tafel 1) neben seine Vorlage, die van
Vlietische Radierung (Tafel 2), legen, springen die
Abweichungen sofort in die Augen: »Der Kupferstich
verändert die Radierung an sich nicht unbedeutend
aber die Abweichungen gehen über das Technische
hinaus. Die sorgfältigere Ausführung läßt den Stoff
des Mantels feiner erscheinen. Da das Licht von
einem etwas tieferen Punkte einfällt, so erscheint der
Kopf nicht ganz so gebückt. Die Züge sind etwas
verjüngt, das Gesicht hat einen fast schlauen Ausdruck
bekommen und besitzt in seiner Seibstbescheidung
etwas Entschlossenes. Dieser geriebene Herr nimmt
es schon eher mit dem Teufel auf. Seine Stimme mag
dünn sein, aber sie mag dabei etwas scharf Durch-
dringendes haben. Beim Abschließen des Vertrages
wird er sich schon vorsehen, daß er nicht zu kurz
kommt. Aus dem Fünfundsechzigjährigen ist ein
Fünfziger geworden ").«

Nachdem es uns auf diese Weise gelungen ist,
die bildliche Abstammung des Faust-Bildnisses
bis in dritte Generation zurückzuverfolgen, wollen
wir uns nun mit der gebotenen Vorsicht an den Ver-
such heranwagen, ob es nicht vielleicht möglich wäre,
einen Schritt weiter zu gelangen und bis zu dem
lebenden Urbilde vorzudringen.

Der Kopf des grämlichen Greises, der auf so
seltsamen Wegen und Umwegen zum Doktor Faust
geworden ist, blickt uns nämlich in verändertem KostOfh
und veränderter Haltung, aber mit denselben Gesichto-
zügen aus mehreren Bildern Rembrandt's entgegen,

Chronik des Wiener Goethe- Vereins XXX , XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.

er ist also nicht frei erfunden, sondern einem lebenden
Modelle nachgebildet, das in unzähligen Variationer.
auf den Bildern Rembrandt's und seines Schülers
Gerard Dou wiederkehrt. Vor allem in einer Form und
Haltung, die ganz auffallend an unser Blatt erinnert,
und zwar so sehr, daß die Radierung van Vliet's
nach diesem Bilde im Kunsthandel des achtzehnten
Jahrhunderts ohneweiters als »Faust« bezeichnet
wurde. Lediglich das Kostüm ist verändert : den
kahlen Scheitel bedeckt eine turbanartig von einem
Tuche umwundene Pelzmütze, die uns auch auf
anderen Bildern Rembrandt's und Dou's begegnet,
und an die Stelle des dürftigen, geflickten Bettler-
mantels ist ein üppiger Pelzkragen getreten. Diesmal
liegt aber nicht ein Ausschnitt aus einem größeren
Bilde Rembrandt's zu Grunde, sondern ein selb-
ständiger Porträt- oder Studienkopf, dessen Original
sich Im Ferdinandeum zu Innsbruck befindet (Rück-
seite von Tafel 2, oben». Eine gute alte Kopie dieses
Bildes — früher Gerard Dou zugeschrieben — findet
sich auf Schloß Pommersfelden bei Bamberg
Klassiker der Kunst, XXIV, S. 26, 1801 Der ein-
gangs zitierte Moehsen beschreibt die Radierung,
die das kleine Bild in Originalgröße wiedergibt,
S. 14 folgendermaßen: >Man hat ein Blatt von van
Vliet, so einen Mann vorstellt, der in der Gesichts-
bildung mit diesem [d. i. dem Faust des Ciartres]
übereinkommt, außer daß er ein wenig älter aussieht
Den Kopf bedeckt eine ungeheure rauhe Mütze, die-
unterwärts mit einem gestreiften Tuche, zweimal um-
gebunden ist. Er ist hier in einem Pelze mit einem
breiten rauhen Ausschlag bekleidet, anstatt daß jener
einen offen stehenden Mantel, und einen weißen
Halskragen um hat. Zur rechten des Kopfes ist:
Ht ran Ryn in. Gleich darunter in einem Mono-
gramme: IG. van Vliet fuit /ög^. Ich habe dieses
Blatt sowohl neulich aus einer holländischen Ver-
steigerung unter dem Titel des Doctor Faust, als auch
1760 aus der Frobesischen Auktion zu Helmstädt er-
halten, woselbst es im Catalogo P. 2. p. 3%. n. 579
unter eben diesem Titel vorgekommen "). Gersaint
und Yver haben zwar, ersterer S. 291 u. f. und
letzterer S. 176 einige Blätter angeführet, die van Vliet
nach Rembrandt radirt hat, es kommt aber dieses
Blatt mit keinem der daselbst beschriebenen überein,
es müßte denn das zweyte bey dem Gersaint seyn,
welches er, ich weiß nicht warum, le Porträt de
Philo le Juif nennet.« Warum, w ird uns sofort
klar, wenn wir die Zusammenstellung auf der Rück-
seite von Tafel 2 überblicken und mit Tafel 1 ver-
gleichen: dieses Bild hat nämlich genau denselben
Weg wie der »Faust« zurückgelegt vom Rem-
brandtischen Ölbilde über die Radierung van Vliefs

in die Serie des Ciartres, wo es genau unter den -
selben Umständen wie der heilige Joseph zum
»Faust«, zu dem Namen »Philon le Juif« gekommen
jst. Zug um Zu^, Linie für Linie stimmt hier das
Gesicht mit dem »Faust« überein. Man beachte vor
allem die offenbar durch Hautfalten stufenweise ge-
gliederte Backenlinie mit den hohen Bartstoppeln,
dann Form und Lage der Ohren, besonders aber
die Mundpartie. Lediglich der spitzbübische Ausdruck
der Augen, der recht gat zu dem Bilde des durch-
triebenen Erz-Zauberers paßt, ist — gewollt oder un-
gewollt — durch tiefere Ausarbeitung der Augenpartie
ernster geworden und hat sich so unwillkürlich mehr
der Vorstellung von dem tiefen Denker genähert, der,
ein Zeitgenosse Christi, den Begriff des Logos als
Vermittlers zwischen dem Menschen und der Gottheit
philosophisch begründet hat.

In dasselbe kummerdurchfurchte Antlitz
blicken wir auf dem Rembrandt-Bilde auf der Rück-
seite von Tafel 3, auf das mich Professor Dr.
R. F. Arnold aufmerksam macht (Bode I Nr. 30,
Original in der Sammlung Dr. A. Bredius im Haag).
Wenn wir dieses Bild neben die van Vliet'sche Ra-
dierung, die hier zum Vergleiche wiederholt ist, legen,
wird wohl kaum ein Zweifel daran aufkommen, daß
es ein und derselbe Mensch ist, der auf diesen
beiden Blättern dargestellt ist. Er ist nur noch um
einige Jahre älter geworden, und Kummer und Sorge
haben noch tiefere Runen in sein Gesicht gegraben.
Der Blick ist nach aufwärts gerichtet, aber es sind
dieselben melancholischen Augen, mit denen unse;
»Faust« nach abwärts blickt.

In derselben Wendung, mit demselben Pelz und
demselben niederen Käppchen bekleidet ist dieser
Kopf dann nach dem Ö. bilde Rembrandt's (Klassiker
der Kunst II S. 40, 43), und der nach dem-
selben ausgeführten eigenhändigen Radierung des
Meisters (Klassiker der Kunst VIII S. 238. hier als
»erster Orientalenkopf bezeichnet) in die Serie des
Ciartres, und, wie ich vjrausgreifend erwähnen muß,
in jene des Peter Aubry übergegangen. Weil er aber
eine goldene Halskette mit einem Medaillon daran
trägt (die wir auf manchem anderen Rembrandt-
Bilde wieder erkennen), hat er hier den Namen
Thomas Morus erhalten.

Philo, der jüdische Philosoph aus der Zeit
Christi, der »weitbeschreite Zauberer und Schwarz-
künstler«, D. Johann Faust, und Thomas Moore, der
Großkanzler von England, der berühmte Verfasser
der »Utopia«, drei Persönlichkeiten, wie sie ver-
schiedener kaum gedacht werden können, finden wir
also in unserer Porträt-Serie durch drei Bilder Rem-
brandt's dargestellt, die alle drei auf ein und dasselbe

Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.

lebende Modell zurückgehen. Dieses Modell aber, das
uns auch auf noch zahlreichen anderen Studien-
kOpfen Rembrandl's begegnet, ist, wie die neuere
Forschung annimmt und in der Benennung der Bilder
zum Ausdruck bringt, niemand anderer als — Rem-
brandl's Vater, der Leydener MQIIermeister Härmen
Geritszoon van Rijn.

♦ * *

Und nun gilt es, die zahlreiche, zum Teil recht
entartete Nachkommenschaft zu verfolgen, die dieses
unter so seltsamen Umständen zum Doktor Faust
gewordene Bild von Rembrandt's Vater im Laufe von
zwei Jahrhunderten gezeugt hat.

Das folgende Blatt, das auf Tafel 6 nach dem
Originale der Familien-Fideikommiß-Bibliothek wieder-
gegeben ist, war bisher gänzlich UQbekannt. Es rührt
von einem Landsmann und Zeitgenossen des Ciartres
her, der ihn um zwanzig Jahre überlebt hat. Pierre
Aubry (1596-1667) stammte aus der Champagne und
ließ sich in dem damals noch deutschen Straßburg
nieder, wo er ein paar hundert Porträts berühmter
Zeitgenossen in Kupfer stach, mit denen er ganz
Europa überschwemmte"». Außer dem -Doktor
Faust< finden sich in ganz gleichem ovalen Rahmen
In unserer Sammlung noch folgende »Porträts« nach
denselben van Vlietischen Studienköpfen, die auch
Ciartres benützt hat: Heradites, Democritus, Thomas
Morus. Keines dieser Blätter trägt eine Stecher-
Signatur oder Verleger-Adresse. Sollte Aubry vielleicht
doch Bedenken getragen haben, diese kühnen Be-
nennungen mit seinem Namen zu decken und auf
diese Weise die Glaubwürdigkeit seiner übr gen
historischen Porträts in Frage zu stellen ? Unsere
Abdrücke sind allerdings so stark zugeschnitten, daß
kein Plattenrand zu erkennen ist, aber die Oberein-
stimmung in dem Format und vor allem die Gleich-
heit der Buchstabenformen der Unterschriften mit
jenen auf Blättern, die ausdrücklich die Firma des
Pierre Aubry tragen, lassen keinen Zweifel daran
aufkommen, daß auch diese vier Porträts aus seiner
Fabrik stammen.

Dieses Blatt scheint die Vorlage für eine spätere
Zeichnung gebildet zu haben, die Alexander Tille
a. a. O., S. 548, folgendermaßen beschreibt: »Ein
Tuschblatt, dessen Vorbild und Entstehung' noch
nicht bekannt geworden ist, macht den Kopf noch
jünger, noch runder und gibt der Gestalt eine Art
Gürtel, .^us dem Fünfziger ist ein Vierziger geworden,
der das Leben mit Wein utid Weib genossen hat.
Die Falten der Stirn und der untern rechten Wange
sind geblieben. Aus dem Gesicht spricht die Be-
kümmernis, daß der Bauch nich' mehr fähig ist, noch
etwas aufzunehmen. Das Blatt ist unterzeichnet

Doctor Faustus und darunter steht von einer Hand
um 17(j0 vermerkt : Natus in comitatu anhaltino etc.
Aus der Vorlage dieses Blattes ist das Titelblatt des
dritten deutschen Volksbuches von Faust abgeleitet.
des sogenannten Faustbuches des Christlich
Meynenden. dessen älteste bisher bekannt gewordene
Ausgabe aus dem Jahre 1725 stammt. Es macht auf
seinem vergröbernden Holzschnitt den Doktor zum
Dreißiger. Das Haar ergänzt es ihm freilich nicht,
'.ber die Runzeln tilgt es ihm. Seine feisten Backen
und glotzigen Augen verraten, daß sein Gott der
Bauch ist. Für sein Lieblingsmahl oder den Wein
seines Herzens möchte et sich doch wohl dem Teufel
übergeben, für so wenig mutig man ihn auch sonst
hält. Es ist Faust der Fresser, der Schlemmer, nicht
mehr der Faust, der aus Wissensdurst wider Gott
kriegen wollte.«

Dieses Titelbild ist auf Tafel 7 wiedergegeben.
Den geistreichen Schlußfolgerungen Tilles vermag ich
aber nicht unbedingt zuzustimmen. Wer je in einer
größeren Sammlung von Kupferstich- und Holzschnitt-
Porträts gearbeitet und dabei in einzelnen Fällen die
Veränderungen verfolgt hat. die das Bild ein und der-
selben Persönlichkeit erleidet, wenn jedes folgende
vom vorausgehenden kopiert wird, der wird in den
Veränderungen nicht eine ^energisch durchgeführte
Charakteristik^ *•), sondern nur das Unvermögen des
reproduzierenden »Künstlers« erblicken. Alle Stiche
und Holzschnitte aus dritter und vierter Hand weisen
rundere, vollere Gesichter auf, denen in der Regel
jede Modellierung mangelt.

Während dieser Holzschnitt vor der Editio
princeps des »Christlich Meynenden« sich mit den
verschiedenen Auflagen des Volksbuches fast bis gegen
Ende des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts erhalten hat, ist
eine neue Nachbildung in Kupferstich entstanden, auf
die fast alle Wiederholungen des Bildes im neun-
zehnten Jahrhundert zurückgehen (Tafel 8). Sie findet
sich als Titelbild vor dem fünften Stück der »Biblio-
theca. Acta et Scripta Magica. Gründliche Nachrichten
und Urtheile von solchen Büchern und Handlungen,
Welche die Macht des Teufels in leiblichen Dingen
betreffen. Zur Ehre Gottes, und dem Dienst der
Menschen heraus gegeben von D. Erhard David
Hauber, Hochgräfl. Schauenburg- und Lippischen Super-
intendenten, der Kayserlichen Leopold-Carolinischen
Academie und der Königl. Preuss. Gesellschaft der
Wissenschaften Mit-Genossen.« Lemgo 1739.

Eberhard David Hauber ,1695— 1765\ ein
Pfarrersohn aus Hohenhaßloch in Württemberg, wurde
1725 Superintendent zu Stadthagen und 1746 Pastor«
der deutschen St. Petrigemeinde in Kopenhagen.
Neben rein theologischen Arbeiten hat er sich vie

Chronik des Wiener Goethe-Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.

mit geographischen Studien und mit biblischer
Archäologie beschäftigt • ). Seine Bibliotheca Magica,
die im großen und ganzen auf einem freisinnigen
Standpunkte steht, wurde begonnen in einer Zeit,
da der unter dem Namen der Jenaischen Christnacnts-
Tragödie bekannte Versuch einer Teufelsbeschwörung,
bei der mehrere Teilnehmer durch Kohlenoxydgas-
vergiftung ums Leben kamen, noch immer die Gemüter
erregte und die Federn der Gelehrten beschäftigte *")
Sogar der berühmteste Arzt jener Zeit, der Hallenser
Professor Friedrich Hoff mann, der schon 1706 in einer Ab-
handlung >De potentia diaboli in corpora« durchaus
nicht jeden Einfluß des Teufels schlechtweg geleugnet
hatte, und sein Schüler Johann Heinrich Schulze
haben damals in aufklärendem Sinne in den Streit
eingegriffen.

Auf einer Studienreise nach Holland, die er 1728
mit Unterstützung des Grafen Friedrich Christian
zu Schaumburg-Lippe unternahm, dürfte Hauber die
van Vlietische Radierung kennen gelernt oder er-
woiben haben. Zu dem unbeholfenen Nachstich, der
geradezu eine Karrikatur des holländischen Studien-
kopfes darstellt, gibt er auf S. 356 *") folgende : »An-
merkung zu dem Titul-Kupffer. Doctor Faust ist in
der Historie der Würckungen des Teufels, und der
Zauberey, ein so berühmter Name, daß sein Bildniß
auch billig einen Platz in unserer Bibliothec fordert.
Da mir nun schon vor geraumer Zelt ein von einem
guten Meister gezeichnetes, und in Kupffer gestochenes
Bild desselben zu Händen gekommen, so habe ich
solches diesem Stück vorsetzen wollen. Nun kann
ich zwar nicht sagen, daß Doctor Faust würcklich
also, wie das Bild zeiget, ausgesehen habe ; Da aber
doch solches Bild würcklich und schon vor vielen
Jahren in Kupffer gestochen worden, so wird es
unsern Lesern vermuthlich angenehm seyn, eine copie
davon zu sehen und zu haben.«

Der Rezensent der Allgemeinen Deutschen Biblio-
thek, 107, S. 529»';. urteilt über dieses Bild : »Das
mag nun acht seyn oder nicht, so hat es doch so
viel dem vermuthlichen Charakter eines solchen
Menschen entsprechendes, daß sich selbst mit Lavatern
ein paar Worte darüber jeden ließen, denn obgleich
die Physiognomie, eben keine Schwarzkünstlerische
Bosheit bezeichnet, so hat sie doch viel taschen-
spielerische Schalkheit und schadenfrohe Lauer-
samkeit«

Auf diesen Hauberischen Stich gehen die Nach-
bildungen zurück, die der Faustkopf in der ersten
Hälfte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts gefunden hat
(Tafel 9). Mit einer gewissen Selbständigkeit und
nicht ohne Geschick ist die Steinzeichnung behandelt,
die Wilhelm Müller und Ludwig Achim von Arnim 1818

hrer Übersetzung des Marloweschen Doktor Faustus
als Titelbild vorangestellt haben. Störend wirkt nui
die ganz unmotivierte Fältelung des Mantels. Wie
armselig nimmt sich daneben der Steindruck im fünften
Bande von Scheibie's »Kloster«, 1845, aus! Das wirre
Haar vermag der ungeschickte Zeichner nicht anders
darzustellen als dadurch, daß er den einen Teil sich
nach vorne, den andern nach rückwärts kräuseln läßt,
wodurch der Umriß des Schädels in Form einer scharf
gezeichneten Linie zum Ausdruck kommt, ein Vor-
gang, der schon an dem Hauberischen Stich zu be-
obachten ist.

Tafel 10 bringt zwei Nachbildungen aus der
zweiten Hälfte des vorigen Jahrhunderts. Die erste
ein Holzschnitt aus »Deutsche Männer. Bilder aus der
Geschichte des deutschen Volkes von Hermann dem
Cherusker bis auf unsere Tage von Manuel Raschke«
(Leipzig 1868), S, 41, geht, wie der Vergleich mit den
vorausgehenden Tafeln zeigt, offenbar direkt auf das
sehr selten gewordene Blatt des Ciartres zurück und
sucht diese Vorlage möglichst getreu wiederzugeben.
Die zweite dagegen, das Titelbild zu Karl Engels
ominösem »Volksschauspiel« ^Oldenburg 1876;, nimmt
sich wieder allerlei Freiheiten heraus: der ganz leicht
gefältelte Leinerkragen des Originals wird zu einer
Art Mühlsteinkragen, wie er zu Anfang des siebzehnten
Jahrhunderts getragen wurde, und die besonders scharf
gezeichneten und kühn geschwungenen Brauen machen
aus dem Faust einen Mephisto.

Und nun noch einmal aus Deutschland zurück
nach Paris, aus dem neunzehnten Jahrhundert zurück
ins achtzehnte !

Mit Erstaunen erkennen wir auf Tafel 11 unseren
Faustkopf wieder. Aber welche Veränderung ist mit
ihm vor sich gegangen ! Er scheint bereits den Hexen-
trank im Leibe zu haben, denn die zahllosen Runzeln
und Fältchen, die Zeugen kummervoll durchwachter
Nächte, sind geglättet, das dünne, wirre Haar ist
durch einen üppigen, in der Mitte ein wenig kokett
gescheitelten Schopf ersetzt, aber Schnurrbart, Kragen
und Mantel ist derselbe, kein Zweifel, daß wir ein
Abbild von demselben Urbild vor uns haben. Unser
Erstaunen wird nicht geringer, weim wir auf dem
Rahmen, der das Porträt umgibt, lesen: »Zenon Philo-
sophe Natif de l'lsle de Cypre mort a 98 ans.« Das
Blatt stammt wieder aus einer Serie von Philosophen,
der Pariser Verleger derselben aber, »Daumont rue
St. Martin«, ist derselbe, der sich innerhalb dieser
Serie das Stückchen geleistet hat, ein historisch be-
glaubigtes Porträt Rene I. von Anjou, Königs von
Neapel, geboren 1409, gestorben 1480, der nach einem
wechselreichen Leben sich den schönen Künsten
widmete, die Dichtungen der Troubadours sammelte

Chronik des Wiener Goethe-Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXU. Bd.

und selbst dichterisch tätig war, seinen Zeitgenossen
als »Benoist Spinoza fameux Philosophe« vor-
zulegen "" .

Während die bisher besprochenen Nachbildungen
in Kupferstich und Steindruck im großen und ganzen
doch immer das Bestreben gezeigt haben, die Vorlage
getreu wiederzugeben, nimmt das auf Tafel 12 in der
Größe und in der unwahrscheinlich grellen Farben -
Wirkung des Orignals getreu wiedergegebene Ö 1-
bildchen, das bisher völlig unbekannt war, in Bezug
auf Technik, Auffassung und vor allem Herkunft^
eine ganz besondere Stellung ein. Im Gegensatze zu
den bisher besprochenen Nachbildungen weist es
eine starke Umbildung ins Dämonische auf, und was
das MerkwQdigste daran ist, es stammt vom Hofe in
Innsbruck und aus einer Sammlung, deren Grund-
stock aus Bildnissen von Personen des sechzehnten
Jahrhunderts besteht.

Faust am Hofe zu Innsbruck! Als ich zum
erstenmale in der erst seit wenigen Jahren der
öffentlichen Besichtigung zugänglichen Porträtsamm-
lung, die gegenwärtig die Wände der Münz- und
Medaillen-Sammlung im kunsthistorischen Museum
ziert, meinen Faust erkannte, da schien sich mir
plötzlich ein unendlich weiter Ausblick zu eröffnen.
Meine Freude wurde jedoch bald herabgestimmt, als
ich mich mit der Geschichte des sogenannten Rem-
brandtischen Faust-Bildes einerseits und mit der Ge-
schichte der Ambraser Porträtsammlung andererseits
eingehender zu beschäftigen begann.

»Den am wenigsten bekannten Bestandteil des
großen Kunstbesitzes, der vormals im Schlosse Ambras
vereinigt war, bildet eine Sammlung kleiner Bildnisse
von regierenden Fürsten des fünfzehnten und
sechzehnten Jahrhunderts und ihren Ahnen, von Feld-
herren, Staatsmännern, Gelehrten, Künstlern und
Dichtern derselben Zeit und aus verschiedenen Ländern
Europas, unter denen Deutschland und Italien obenan
stehen. Man pflegt sie als Porträt-Sammlung des
Erzherzogs Ferdinand von Tirol (f 1595) zu be-
zeichnen, was in der Hauptsacha richtig ist. Doch
finden sich in ihr auch Bildnisse aus dem siebzehnten
Jahrhunderte bis zum Ende desselben. Diese zeigen,
daß deren auch noch später in einer, wenngleich
nicht großen Zahl, nach Ambras gekommen sind,
also zwischen einem alten Bestände und späteren
Erwerbungen unterschieden werden muß« *°). Die
Gruppe, welcher unser »Faust« angehört, schildert
Kenner mit folgenden Worten : »Die andere Reihe (41
dagegen ist wohl älter, (als die im vorausgehenden
Abschnitte besprochene Serie von Miniaturen des
siebzehnten Jahrhunderts), a'^er auch sehr unter-
geordnet. Sie umfaßt 46 gleich große, auf Leinwand

skizzenhaft gemalte, wohl meist erfundene Porträte
die durch den braunen Ton, der fast wie Untermalung
aussieht, und durch ein gelbliches, mit Weiß gehöhtes
Inkarnat auffallen. Als eine geschlossene Folge für
sich, scheinen sie von jeher wie ein Anhang der
Sammlung betrachtet und, was sie in der Tat ver-
dienen, wenig gewürdigt worden zu sein.«

Wenn wir die ganze Reihe sorgfältig durch-
gehen, können wir feststellen, daß unser »Faust« In
dieser Umgebung nicht allein steht, sondern einen
guten Teil der illustren Gesellschaft, in die ihn Ciarlres
seinerzeit gestellt, mit sich genommen hat. Bei ge-
nauem Zusehen erkennen wir unter Nummer 43
Herodes, 45 Dionysius, 48 Mahomet, 49 II Gran
Nogaj, 50Cirus, 52Archrimedes,53Esop, 54 Pythagoras.
56 Aristoteles, 57 Thomas Morus, 59 Chaireddin Barba-
rossa, 63 Mahomet, 67 den ägyptischen Josef.
Die Entstehung dieser Bilder läßt sich wohl nur so
erklären, daß der Maier, der den Auftrag erhielt, die
Sam.mlung zu vervollständigen, sich allerdings die
Blätter der Ciartres-Serie oder jener von Pierre Aubry
zum Vorbild genommen, die einzelnen Bildnisse aber
absichtlich aus seiner Phantasie heraus umgestaltet
hat, um die Abhängigkeit von seinen Vorlagen
weniger deutlich in die Augen springen zu lassen.
* *

Mehr als zwei Jahrhunderte haben wir in unserer
bisherigen Betrachtung durchmessen. Diesen langen
Zeitraum hindurch hat sich der aus holländischem
Boden hervorgewachsene, in der windigen Pariser
Großstadtluft umgetaufte Studienkopf als das be-
glaubigte Bildnis des geschichtlichen Faust mit merk-
würdiger Zähigkeit gerade in Deutschland am Leben
erhalten. Aber welche Wandlungen hat er durch-
machen müssen 1 Der Rembrandtische Lichtstrahl, der
von rechts oben über das Gesicht fällt, ist allmählich
verglommen, der gebeugte Kopf hat sich immer mehr
aufgerichtet, der gesenkte Blick gehoben, die Züge
haben sich von Stufe zu Stufe vergröbert, bis uns
schließlich das gramdurchfurchte Antlitz des Nähr-
vaters, zur mephistophelischen Fratze verzerrt, aus
der Bildfläche entgegenstarrt.

Daneben ist allerdings wiederholt der Versuch
unternommen worden, den einen oder anderen künst-
lerisch zum mindesten gleich hochstehenden Typus
als Faust einzuführen, keiner dieser Versuche hat
jedoch durchzudringen vermocht. Wir können uns
daher im folgenden darauf beschränken, die um der
Vollständigkeit willen gebrachten Abbildungen mit
kurzen Erläuterungen zu begleiten.

Tafel 13 bringt zunächst ein bartloses Gesichf
mit formloser Mütze in ovalem Rahmen mit der
Unterschrift : LE DOCTEVR FAVSTE PHILOSOPHE

Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.

ALEMAND etc. Es geht zurQck auf einen kleinen
radierten Studienkopf von Rembrandt, der, wie ich
glaube, das Modell zu einer Figur des sogenannten
großen Ecce Homo (Ölbild : Klassiker der Kunst, II,
S. 157, Radierung, ebenda, VIII, S. 195) darstellt, und
zwar zu jenem bartlosen Gesicht, das — hier von
Leidenschaft verzerrt — der abwehrend ausgestreckten
Hand des Pilatus gerade gegenübersteht. Das Porträt
stammt aus dem Verlage des Kupferstechers Balthasar
Moncornet, der, um 1615 zu Rouen geboren und nach
1670 gestorben, in seiner »boutique au fauburg Saint*
Marcel. dans la rue des Gobelins« zu Paris eine ähn-
liche Fabrik historischer Porträts betrieben hat, wie
seine älteren Zeitgenossen Langlois und Aubry **)■
Sein Faust-Porträt ist offenbar auf genau dieselbe
Weise zustandegekommen, wie das seines Zeit-
genossen Ciartres. Das ergibt sich am besten aus der
Zusammenstellung mit dem angeblichen Porträt des
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, Fausl's
ungleich höher stehendem Zeitgenossen, der als
Doktor alier vier Fakultäten das berühmte Buch

Dt $miertttudin( et vanita/e omnitim SiUntiaiutn (t

artinm, das das Gehirn des Knaben Wolfgang Goethe
eine Zeitlang in ziemliche Verwirrung setzte »*), ge-
schrieben und gar manchen Charakterzug zum Bilde
des Goethischen Faust beigesteuert hat^')-

Auf Tafel 14 erkennen wir zunächst in ver-
kleinerter Nachbildung denselben Kopf in der Serie
des Ciartres, hier trägt er aber zur Abwechslung die
Bezeichnung Divinus Plato und überdies in der
linken oberen Ecke die Künstler-Signatur hPadoanus
Inuentor ! Durch die Gegenüberstellung mit der Rem-
brandtischen Originalradierung, die einen Amster-
damer Rabbiner darstellt, wird die völlige Halt-
losigkeit beider Benennungen offenbar. Das Bild des
Agrippa, wie es vor den älteren Ausgaben seiner
Schriften steht, sieht ganz anders aus.

Diese beiden Bildnisse stammen gleichfalls aus
einer Serie, deren Titel ich hier nur aus sekundärer
Quelle wiedergeben kann : Tabitau historiijue, ou nombre

tit I>i.'XLIlJ plamkes ou sont gravis en tailU-Joute Us
illtistrtt Francois tt Strängen de tun et Fautre text,
remar^uahUs far Itur naissante ou leur Jot tum, doctriue,
////«', (hargt tt iniflois; avtt leurs ihges et leurs
armoiries gravits far Pietre Daret, Louis ßoissevin (f
B. Montcrnet. Paris /fJSy2 — 56 **>,

Derselbe Rembrandtische Sludienkopf, der bei
Moncornet als »Le Doctevr Favste Philo-
so phe A II e m a n d etc.« bezeichnet ist, begegnet
uns in der Serie des Pietre Aubry, der, wie wir er-
fahren haben, seinen Faust schon hatte, als Archi-
medes Siracus (Tafel 22. Daß dieses Blatt zur selben
Serie gehört, wie der Doctor Faustus auf Tafel 6,

ergibt sich aus der übereinstimmenden Größe des
Ovals, der gleichen horizontalen Schraffierung des
Hintergrundes und dem gleichen Buchstabencharakter
der Unterschrift. Ein genauer Vergleich mit dem zu
diesem Zwecke hier wiederholten Docteur Favste des
Moncornet zeigt, daß der Kopf in dem Oval viel
weiter nach rechts geschoben ist, daß die Falten der
Mütze und der Pelzkragen viel schärfer heraus-
gearbeitet, die Züge des Gesichte« stark vergröbert
sind und die Mundpartie im tiefschwarzen Schatten
der sich kreuzenden Strichlagen nahezu völlig unter-
gegangen ist.

Vielleicht war eine gewisse Ähnlichkeit mit dem
bekanntesten und berühmtesten Faust-Bilde, Faust in
seinem Laboratorium (Tafel 15), dafür ausschlag-
gebend, daß man gerade diesen Rembrandtischen
Studienkopf für Faust ausgegeben hat. Aber auch bei
dieser größeren Radierung steht es durchaus nicht
einwandfrei fest, daß Rembrandt selbst hier einen
Faust darstellen wollte. »Nicht Erstaunen, nicht Ent-
setzen steht auf diesem runden, glattrasierten Gesicht,
sondern die Behaglichkeit im Beschauen des Selbst-
verständlichen. Die ganze Gestalt macht einen selbst-
sicheren, behäbigen und wohlgenährten Eindruck.
Seelische Erregungen sind ihr ganz fremd. Sie scheint
sich eher die Einzelheiten der Erscheinung einprägen
zu wollen, als daß sie darüber entsetzt wäre.^*) Ver-
hältnismäßig spät wird in der Literatur die Be-
zeichnung > Faust« - überdies durch einen garstigen
Druckfehler entstellt — zuni ersten Male auf dieses
Blatt angewendet in dem 1751 zu Paris erschienenen
Rembrandt-Katalog von Gersaint, Helle und Glomy-
Dort beginnt S. 195, Nr. 250, der diesem Blatt ge-
widmete Abschnitt unter der Überschrift J'autrieui

mit den Worten : J-t Portrait tfun PhHoso/he, ou Aleiecin,
coritiu en I/ollaniie sous to nont i/u /)octeur Fautrieus.

Diesen Katalog hat Goethe gekannt; am 3. Juli
1780 schreibt er an Merck, der selbst ein gründlicher
Rembrandt-Kenner und -Sammler war: >wenn du die
schöne Jahreszeit über den Gersaint entbehren kanst
mit dem Supplemente, so schick mir ihn mit.« Wozu
er ihn brauchte, geht aus einer späteren Briefstelle
(ll. Oktober 1780) hervor: >Sei doch so gut und
schreib mir, wie man es am gescheutsten macht,
eine Kupferstichsammlung zu rangiren ... Es ist dies
ein Auftrag, den mir der Herzog gegeben hat, und an
dem ihm viel gelegen ist.« Goethes Interesse für
Rembrandt ist jedoch keineswegs erst durch Merck
angeregt worden, er brachte es schon aus dem Vater-
hause nach Weimar mit Unter den Frankfurter
Malern, die Rat Goethe beschäftigte, war auch Johann
Georg Trautmann (1713—1769), »der sich den Rem-
brandt zum Muster genommen und es in ein-

Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX, XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.

geschlossenen Lichtern und Widerscheinen, nicht
weniger in effectvollen Feuersbrünsten weit gebracht
hatte, so daß er einstens aufgefordert wurde, einen
Pendant zu einem Rembrandtischen Bilde zu
malen«" . Ende August 1775, unmittelbar vor seinem
Abgang nach Weimar, schreibt Goethe an Johanna
Fahimer: »ich zeichne, künstle p. Und lebe ganz
mit Rembiandt« Dieses
Interesse für Rembrandt
hat ihn bis in das späteste
Alter begleitet : Am 23.
März 1829, drei Jahre vor
seinem Tode, schreibt er
an Rauch: »Vor einiger
Zeit erhielt ich unver-
muthet eine Capitalzeich-
nung von Rembrandt, wo-
ran ich schon einige
Wochen zehre, bey dieser
Gelegenheit andere Werke
dieses unvergleichlichen
Meisters hervorsuche und
in sein Verdienst einzu-
dringen mirzurAngelegen-
heit mache.' Von diesem
Blatte besaß ereinen guten
Abdruck^ .Als es sich bei
Veranstaltung der ersten
rechtmäßigen Gesamtaus-
gabe seiner Schriften im
Jahrel788darum handelte,
ein Titelkupfer für den 7.
Band, der das Faust-Frag-
ment enthalten sollte, aus-
zuwählen, ließ er noch in
Rom^*) durch den Kupfer-
stecher Joh. Heinrich Lips
diese Rembrandtische Ra-
dierung in Kupfer stechen
(Tafel 16 . Weiche Verän-
derungen Lips beim Nach-
stich vorgenommen hat,
ergibt sich aus einem Ver-
gleich der beiden Blätter. Die ältesten Ausgaben des
Volksbuches sind noch ohne jeden bildlichen Schmuck-
Erst ein 1588 ohne Angabe des Ortes erschienener Nach-
druck von Zarncke, Goethe-Schriften, S. 261 als a' be-
zeichnet), dessen Titelblatt hier nach dem Katalog der
Frankfurter Faust-Ausstellung wiedergegeben ist, weist
einen kleinen Holzschnitt iu\, der gewissermaßen das
Ende des Faust-Romans an den Anfang anknüpft, in-
dem er im Vordergrunde den Abschluß des Paktes, im
Hintergrunde die Höllenfahrt Fausts darstellt. Dem

yaubcrcr t)n ©c^ivarl^f ütifKcr / ® ie

er (ic^ gegen txm Xtu^d niiff eine bmanbtc

ytlt vetfd^titben I XOas tt {yU^wi^düttx für frl^^C

Äbcnrbf »rr g^fc^jen/frlbÄ an^ttiitnl vnx> grrvUt

btnibi^tttntU^ frfncn ooloerDUtM

cen t,9\)n empfangco.

5J?c^rcrtci(^ au£^ fcttieti cfgcticn l^ixu

Den/f6ttt>tt5fg<n rnö ©ottloff n inrnpl?«« jijm fdijercf«
Kf^ert ^ey fpid/ obrd^i»?l(c^rn (Srrmprl/vnD rtCQ»(^
OfgecXP^cnunct jufamrmn gebogen / xa^
in JDcucf vrrferrrgrr.

II.D. ixxxviii;

Zeichner hat dabei offenbar der Anfang des 5. Kapitels

vorgeschwebt, wo Faust dem Mephistopheles auf-
erlegt, >daß, so oft er jn forderte, er jm in gestalt
und Kleydung eines Franciscaner Münchs, mit einem
Glöcklin erscheinen solte. vnd zuvor etliche Zeichen
geben, damit er am Geläut könnte wissen, wenn er
daher komme.« Diese primitive Darstellung hat, wie

Professor Dr. F. Arnold zu-
erst bemerkt hat, zweifel-
los auf den künstlerisch
bedeutenden Kupferstich
eingewirkt, der auf Tafel

17 wiedergegeben ist. Man
beachte vor allem die Lage
des Glöckleins und des
Rosenkranzes bei Mephi-
stopheles, und die Haltung
der Hände der beiden Fi-
guren. Der Stich rührt von
Christoph vanSichem
her, dem II. dieses Namens,
einem Schüler des H. Golt-
zius, angeblich um 1580
zu Delft geboren und 1648
noch tätig, der hauptsäch-
lich biblische Stoffe nach
Dürer, Lukas von Leyden,
Holbein, Heremskerk und
H. Goltzius in Holz ge-
schnitten und in Kupfer ge-
stochen hat").Auch dieses
Blatt stammt aus einer
Serie von Bildnissen, aber
die Gesellschaft, in der
Faust hier auftritt, ist von
jener, in der ihn Ciartres
zum ersten Male einge-
führt hat, von Grund auf
verschieden. Im Jahre 1608
war in Amsterdam zum
1 . Male eineSammlung von

18 Bildnissen berühmter
Ketzer von Christoph van

Sichern erschienen. Sie enthält u. a. die Bildnisse
von Johann Beuckels von Leyden, Diederick Snyder,
Johann Mathys von Harleem, Bernhard Knipper-
dollinck, Cornelis van Dordrecht. Als im Jahre 1666
bei Wilhelm Goeree in Middelburgh eine neue Auflage
unter dem Titel »Het Tooneel der Hooft-Ketteren, Be-
stände in verscheyde Afbeeltsels van Valsche Pro-
pheten, Naeckt-Ioopers, Geest-dryvt rs, Sectarisen ei»
Duyvels-konstenaren. By een vergadert, en in't
Coper gesneeden, Door C V. Sichem« erschien, wurde

Chronik des Wiener Goethe-Vereins XXX., XXXI u. XXXII. Bd.

Faust und Wagnar als Tafel 19 und 20 hinzugefügt**).
Gegenübergestellt ist auf derselben Tafel ein Nachstich
aus Arnims Zeitung für Einsiedler vom April 1808.
Das Bild gehört hier zu einer Anmerkung des Heraus-
gebers zu den »Denksprüchen aus einer Friedens-
predigt an Deutschland von Jean Paul Fr. Richter«,
die heute niemand ohne Bewegung wird lesen können .

Die beiden folgenden Tafeln geben eine Aus-
wahl aus den rohen Holzschnitt-B Idern zweier
holländischer Obersetzungen des Spiesischsn Volks-
buches. In der Faust-Gestalt des einen (Tafel 18)
glaube ich den Einfluß van Sichems erkennen zu
können. Tafel 20 zeigt als Titelkupfer zu der von
Victor Palma Cayet herrührenden französischen Über-
setzung des Spiesischen Faust-Buches einen Faust
mit baltlosem Gesicht im Talar und Barett eines
französischen Baccalaureus während derBeschwörungs-
szene im Walde, umgeben von den Gestalten der
Teufel. In stark vergröberndem Holzschnitt erscheint
dasselbe Bild vor der undatierten holländischen Aus-
gabe von Hismans van di Rumpel in Amsterdam.
Tafel 21 gibt die beiden Faust-Bilder einer Gruppe
von undatierten Ausgaben des »Christich-Meynen-
den« wieder, deren Eigenheit, abgesehen von der
Neigung zur Verdeutschung der vielen Fremdwörter,
hauptsächlich in der Ausmerzung konfessionell an-
stößiger Motive besteht"). In dem ersten — Faust
neben einem Tische mit brennender Kerze stehend,
einen Brief in der Hand — glauben wir trotz der
Haarfülle noch immer die Züge des Rembrandt-
Vlietischen Typus wieder zu erkennen. Ganz anders
gestaltet sich dagegen die Auffassung in dem zweiten
Bilde. Offenbar beeinflußt durch die Darstellungen im
Puppenspiel, wählte der Zeichner das Bild eines
»greisen Dutzendgelehrten mit pedantischen Zügen,
Sein Haar ist ebenso sorgfältig gebürstet, wie die
Schubfächer seines Geistes in Ordnung gehalten
werden . . . auf seinen bebenden Lippen scheint
eher eine Genusregel als ein Zauberbann zu
schweben . . .« *'). Wie in den früheren Fällen ist
jedoch auch hier keine Spur einer gewollten
Charakteristik zu entdecken: Der Formschneider hat-
wie der Vergleich mit dem aufs Geratewohl heraus-
gegriffenen Bilde des Tübinger Professors Jakob
Heerbrand aus dem Jahre 1578 zeigt, einfach das
typische Porträt eines protestantischen Theologen des
sechzehnten Jahrhunderts, das ihm der Zufall in die
Hand spielte, für seine Zwecke umgestaltet, indem
er die ornamentale Umrahmung aus dem Renaissance-
in den Rokoko-Stil übersetzte und den ovalen
Rahmen, der in seiner Vorlage durch eine Umschrift
ausgefüllt ist, schraffierte. »So geht es durch nahezu
all die Ausgaben des vierten Faust-Buches, mehrfach

neu in Holz geschnitten, aber in seinen Wsentlichen
Zügen unverändert.«

Das Lustigste an der ganzen Sache aber ist, daß
es durchaus nicht der einzige Fall war, in dem ein
ehrwürdiger Gottesgelahrter sich in den verrufenen
Erz-Schwarzkünstler und TeufelsbQndler verwandeln
mußte: In Auerbachs Keller in L-ipzig hing eingerahmt
am Mittelpfeiler des oberen Kellers ein Holzschnitt,
unter dem die Namansunterschrift offenbar wegge-
schnitten ist, dafür ist auf das Blatt, auf dem das
Bild aufgeklebt ist (von alter Hand?) geschrieben
»Faust 1713«. -Tief sitzt der Kopf drin im Pelzmantel J.
und in der Halskrause. Spitzbart und Schnurrbart sind T
arg struppig. Die Muskelpartien des Gesichts verraten
große Tatkraft.« Wenn nun Tille angesichts dieses
Bildes den Zweifel nicht unterdrücken kann: »Aber
ein echter Faust ist auch er nicht« '■'), so können wir
darauf erwidern: Allerdings nicht, denn waswirhier
vor uns haben, ist das authentische Porträt des Leip-
ziger Theologen Georg Weinrich (1554—1617), der seit
1586 an der Thomaskirche tätig war, im Jahre 1600
als Rektor der Universität fungierte, sechsmal Dekan
seiner Fakultät war und eine stattliche Reihe theolo-
gischer Schriften und Predigten hinterlassen hat ** .

Hatte man auf diese Weise in dem protestan
tischen Sachsen das typische Porträt eines evange
lischen Theologen des 16. Jahrhunderts kurzerhand
jn einen »Faust« verwandelt, so griff mm in dem
katholischen Oesterreich ohne Bedenken zu dem
Bilde eines katholischen Kirchenfürsten aus dem
17. Jahrhundert. »Im Jahre 17S1«, berichtet Tille, a.
a. O. S. 551, »hatte der preußische Referendar Hcr-
klots in der „Preußischen Blumenlese" ein Gedicht
Doktor Faust veröffentlicht, das, unter dem Einfluß
der Hölty-Bürgerschen Balladendichtung und der über
den Teufelsglauben hinausgewachsenen Zeitanschauung
stehend, in freiem, schalkhaftem Tone den Schwank
behandelt, wie Faust die Nasen seiner Gäste scheinbar
in Trauben verwandelt. Ein steirischer Verleger griff
das Lied auf und sandte es stark verkürzt als fliegendes
Blatt hinaus in die Welt, nicht ohne ihm ein Faust-
bild mit auf den Weg zu geben. Er benutzte dazu
einen alten Druckstock des 17. Jahrhunderts.« Dieser
Druckstock kann nun ganz gut, wie unsere Zusammen-
stellung auf der Rückseite von Tafel 22 zeigt, das
Bild eines katholischen Kirchenfürsten des 17. Jahr-
hunderts sein, er kann aber ebensogut von einem
fliegenden Blatt aus der Zeit des oberösterreichischen
Bauernkrieges herrühren und etwa den »Studenten«
oder Stefan Fadinger darstellen.

So sehr verschieden die bisher besprochenen
Faustbilder sich erwiesen haben, so haben sie doch
eines gemeinsam: daß es durchwegs graphische Dar-

Chronik des Wiener Goelhe-Vereins XXX , XXXi. u. XXXII. Od.

Stellungen sind. Unbekannt war bisher, daß es auch
ein plastisches Werk gibt, das offenbar auf die-
selbe Weise wie die übrigen zu der Bezeichnung »Faust«
gekommen Ist. Es wurde gelegentlich einer Ausstellung
von Potträtbüsten im Oesterreichischen Museum von
der »Kunst-Chronik« (2. Jahrgang, 1867, S.8) als Faust-

Zum Schlüsse mag hK-r noch das Bild einer
Teufelsbeschwörung Platz finden aus der Zeit, da
der leibhaftige Johann oder Georg Faust noch auf
Erden sein Wesen trieb. Es stammt aus einer deut-
schen Übersetzung von Petrarcas aszetischer Schrift
,De remediis utriusque fortunae (1358— 1366', die unter

^6 LV.Capüci/^ottcrfmbungctncefc^at^*

CoHigeihcfäuros quosnuIU erugo pcrtdU, Nee tinc£^cc quos für nuhin
äbnpict.

Xhnh {unfl i(?cu>rtr fd>äQ gtrtbcn/ t>a Ißem bkh ff tlt/tdn fdjob
tfetbcthtf

6u4?( 646 it |c^Q im bymcl babm» tEbo boe/fo baf? bn gtoiß gut orcrbr.

bOste bezeichnet. Die Provenienz dieser Büste Ist eben-
so unbekannt wie der Künstler, der sie gemacht hat.
Die Entstehungszeit möchte etwa 1520 — 30 zu setzen
sein, *') Im Jahre 1909 ist sie von der Hofbibliothek
an das Kunsthistorische Museum abgegeben worden
(Tafel 22). Der dreieckige Umriß, der auseinander-
fallende Mantel hat offenbar die Anregung zu dieser
Benennung gegeben. Die Charakteristik, die der Re-
ferent der Kunst-Chronik aus der Büste herausliest»
würde eher auf einen Mephis^opheles als auf einen
Faust zutreffen.

dem Titel „Das Glücksbuch" zuerst 1532 bei Heinrich
Steiner in Augsburg erschienen ist. Die „viel zierlichen
und wunderlustparlichen Figuren, so nach visirlicher
Angebung des Hochgelehrten Doctors Sebastiani
Brandt seeligen auf jegliches Capitel gestellt sind'*,
rühren von Hans Weiditz her*"). Dieses Bild hat
Goethe kennen gelernt, freilich erst zu einer Zeit, als
das Faust-Fragment längst erschienen war. Es hat
sich aber in anderer Weise für sein Schaffen frucht-*
bar erwiesen, denn es bildet, wie Düntzer zuerst nach-
gewiesen hat, die Quelle zum „Schatzgräbei"«*).

Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXIl. BJ

*) Gr&f H. G.. Goethe über te

II. Te«, 2. Band. S. 12.

') Szamat61»ki Siegfried, Das Fanstbuch
de« Christlich Mcynrnden nach dem Druck von 1725
[= Deutsche IJteraturdenkmale des 18. und IQ. Jahrhun-
derts, Nr. 39] Stuttgart, i81>l, S. XIX— XXVI. —
Kiese Wetter Carl, Kaust in der Geschichte und
Tradition, Leipzif». 1893, S. 60. — Tille Alexander,
The arlistic treatment of tbe Faust legend. Publications of
ihe English (ioethr Society No. VII. London, 1893, S. l65f.
— Derselbe, Doktor Faust auf alten Bildem. Vom
Fels zaro Meer, 18. Jahrgang. 26. Heft (i. September 1899),
S. 542 — 551. — Derselbe, Bilderverzeichnis der Bode-
Tilleschen Faust-Galerie. Köln, 1899, S. XV— XIX.

*) L e B 1 a n c M. Gh., Mannel de L'Amiteur d'Est-
anspes, Paris, 1856, II, 490.

*)"Wurrbach Alfred von, Niederländisches
Künstlei-L'xikon, Wien, I910, II, 805.

*) Vgl. Giuseppe Jacopo Ferrazzi, Di Bassano e
dei Bassanesi illustii, Bassano 1847, S. 164fr. — Der
Kupferstecher Johann Schweizer (Schwyzer), nach Naglcr 16,
136 aus Zürich, nach anderen ein Hesse von Geburt, ar-
beitete uiti 1645 und starb 1679.

•) Wurzbach, III, 56.

', Herluison H, Actes d'dtat civil d'aitistes
fran9ais OrUan«, 1873,8. 208. Na hweis Dr. Ulrich T h i e m e.

•)Schaeffer Emil. Van Dyck, S. 2I<).

•) Tille Alex., Die Faustsplit er in der Literatur
des 16. bis 18. Jahrhunderts, Weimar, 1898, S. 610 f.,
Splitter 2C6, S. 614 f., Spliiter 270, S. 673, Splitter 282.

'**) Bartsch Adam. Catalogue Kaisono^ Wien,
• 797, II. S. 78, Nr. 25. — Dutuit Eugene, Manuel
de r amateur d' estampes. £coles Flamaude et Hollandaise,

III, 547. — Le B 1 a n c. Manuel, IV, 145, Nr. 26. —
Kovinski Dmitri, L'ccuvre grav^ des ^l(^ves de
Rembrandt et des maittes qui out gravc dans son goüt,
St. Petersbarg, 1894, Spalte 46.

") Szamatölski, S. XXI. — Rovinski, Sp. 46.

'*) K i e s e w e 1 1 e r, S. 60.

") Einer derselben auf Tafel 13 zur Raumausfüllang.

") T i 1 1 e, Faust auf alten Bildern. S. 548.

•'') Tille, The aitistic treatement. S. 165.

'*) Ich zitiere nach dem (bisher einzigen) Neudru<k
in Scbeiblcs Kloster. II. Band. S. 795. — Der Original-
drock bat, wie mir Prof. Dr. Otto Heuer mitteilt,
hockruckerigs. während Frich Schmidt (Goethe-
Jahrbu. h, III, 96) hochruckerigs zitiert.

'■) K. k. Hofbibliothek. Katalog der Buchkunsl-
Antttellong, Wien, 1916, S. 31, Nr. 99.

'•) Rembrandt von Wilhelm Bode. Paris.
1879, I, Fand, S. I9. Beschreibendes Verzeichnis der Ge-
mälde I, Nr. 37 (S. 106). In einem Buche lesend hat Rem-
brandt den Nährvater noch zweimal dargestellt. (Klassiker der
Kunst, VIII. S. 80. 138). Vgl. darüber Goethe, ,,Nach
Falconet und über Falconet" (Jub.-Ausg. 33. Band, S. 40) :
„es ist alles düster, außer einem Lümpchen, das dem Vater
leuchtet, der mit einem Büchelchcn dasitzt un<l Matien
einige Gebete vorzulesen scheint." An einer anderen Stelle
,Der Sammler und die Seinigen", Ebenda, S. 192; läßt
er es einen Pedanten als Anachronismus vermerken, ,,daQ
der heilige Joseph in einem gebundenen Buche lese". Der
Ausdiuck der Verdrossenheit, den Alexander Tilles scharfer
Blick ans dem van Vlietischen Sludienkopf richtig heraus-
gelesen hat, bildet einen charakteristischen Ztig an der
Gestalt des Nährvaters: Goethe hat das zweimal ausgespro-
chtn. einmal scherzhaft in dem Epigramm ,,Heilige Familie"

Anmerkungen.

Dichtungen, (Jub.-Ausg., i. Band. S. 252), das andere Mal in „Kunst
und Altertum" (Jub- Au.sg., 3f;. Ban<l, S. 304): „Auf den
heiligen Joseph überhaupt haben es die Künsll^jr abgesehen.
Die Byzantiner, denen man nicht nachsagen kann daü
sie überflüssigen Humor anbrächten, stellen bei der Geburt
den Heiligen immer verdrießlich vor."

'») Eben la, Text T. 6 f.. Beschreibendes Verzeichnis
Nr. IG, S. 52 - Das Modell des Judas glaube ich i»
dem Studienkopf in der Kgl. Galerie in Kassel (Kla.ssikei
der Kunst, IT, S. 356) zu erkennen.

*••) J u b. - A usgabe, 35. Band S. 44.

") Tille, Faust auf alten Bildern, S. 548.

") Bibliotheca Jo Nicolai Frobesii Matheniat. A(
Physices Professoris Quondam Helnnsfadiensis Pars II Bibüo-
thccam Pbysicam, Medicam, Mathemathicam Et Litterariam
Compleclcüs. Publicx Auctionis Lege Distrahelur Helmstadii
Die XV. M. Septembris es sqq. A. MDCCLX p. 396
Tille, Faustsplitter, No. 282, S. 673)

*') S i t z m a n n Ed., Dictionnaire de biographie des
hommes celcbrts de l'Alsace, Rixheim, I909, I, 66. Über
seine Beziehungen zu Moscherosch vgl. Artur Bechtold
Zeitschr. f. Bücherfreunde, N. F., 6., S. 270 f., 8., S. 230 ff.

*') Szamatölski, a. o. O., S. XXIV.

**) Allg. Deutsche B i o g r., Ji. Bd , S. 36 1.

»«) Tille, Faustsplitter, S. 189 ff.

") Die aber in der Tat S. 348 ist.

'") Nach C. B 1 ü m 1 e i n. Faustanalekten, in den Be-
richten des Fr. Deutschen Hochstiftes in Frankfurt a. M.,
N. F., Xn. (1896), S. 190. In der Allg. Deutschen Bibliothek
ist diese Stelle am angegebenen Orte nicht zu fmden.

") A 1 1 k i r c h Spinoza im Porträt, Jena. I913, 72 f.

'**) Kenner F., Die Porträtsammlung des Erzherzogs
Ferdinand von Tirol : Jahrbuch der Kunsthistor. Samm-
lungen des AI erh. Kaiserhauses, XIV. Band (1893). S. 37 ff,

") NouvelleBiogr. g^n^rale, 35.Bd.,S 953.

") Dichtung und Wahrheit, Jub.-Ausg..
22. Band, S. 190, 289.

*') R e i c h 1 A.. Euphorion, 4. Band (1897), S. 287 ff.

— Ritter G., Preuß. Jahrb , 141. Bd. (1910), S. 300 ff.|
'♦) Aberlc Carl, Grabdenkmal, Schädel und Ab-
bildungen des Theophrastus Paracelsus, Salzburg, 1891.
S. 292. Faust stehen in dieser Serie am nächsten dif
gleichfalls auf Rembrandt zurückgehenden Bildnisse von
Raimundus Lullus und Nicolas Favel.

»*) Tille, Faust auf alten Bildern, S. 547.

") Dichtung und Wahrheit, a. a. O., S. 29 f. — Vgl
auch Brandt Hermann, Goethe und die graphischen
Künste Heidelberg, 1913, S. 66 f.

*') Schuchardt Chr. Goethes Kunstsammlungen ,
Jena, 1848, I. Teil. S. 177, Nr. 322.

'*• An Göschen am 6. Februar 1788.

•p Wurzbach, a. a. O., I, 620.

*') Ausstellung von Handschriften, Druckwerken-,
Bildern und Tonwerken zur Faustsage und Faustdichtung
veranstaltet vom Freien Deutschen Hochstift. 28. Augus».

— 10. November 1893. Frankfurt a. M.. 1893, S. 107.
♦») Szamatölski, a. «>. O., S. XV. XXV (Klasss i).
") Tille, Bilderverzeichnis, S. XVIH.
**) Ebenda, S. XIX.

**) Allg. Deutsche B i o g r. 41. Band, S. 514 ff.
•*> Nachweis meines Kollegen Johann Jureczek.
**) R ö 1 1 i n ge r, Hans Weiditz, der Petrarkameister

Strasburg, 1904. Nr. 24 (S. 27 — 75).

*^Düntzer Heinrich, Goethos lyrische Ge-
dichte. Erläutert. 3. Anfl., Leipzig, X896, .S. 248.

Verlan des Wiener Goeihe-\'erein>. — Druck von Josef Roller & Co.
(unter verantw. Leitung von Josef VokD in Wita
In Kommiastoo bei Alfred llAlde'', Hol- und Universilltsbuciihindler
1., RoihenihurmfiraSe 2t.

Dniveriity of Torooto
Library

Acme Llbraiy Card Pocket

Und« Pau "Ref. lad« FU«**

Mad«l7 LIBRARY TIUREAU

http://www.archive.org/stream/faustimbildevond00payeuoft/faustimbildevond00payeuoft_djvu.txt

Sid Harth

unread,

Apr 1, 2010, 9:25:26 PM4/1/10

Once Uma approaches us, BJP will take stand: Gadkari

Kolkata, April 1
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Thursday ducked a
question on the return of Uma Bharti into the party, saying the
leadership will spell out its stand on the issue after she approached
it.

"We will finalise our stand when she tells me or some other leader,"
Gadkari said at a media meet here.

However, he was categorical that so far the leadership has not
initiated any dialogue with the firebrand Hindutva leader about her
return.

Uma Bharti last week resigned as president of the Bharatiya Jan Shakti
(BJS), a party she floated four years ago following her expulsion from
the BJP.

She was a senior leader of the BJP and a central minister who had
openly revolted against L.K. Advani in 2004, triggering her temporary
expulsion and a show cause notice.

Her expulsion was revoked later, but in 2005 she was sacked again when
she opposed the appointment of Shivraj Singh Chauhan as the chief
minister of Madhya Pradesh.

In 2006, Uma Bharti floated the BJS, saying she would revive the Hindu
movement in India. However, she received a severe drubbing in the
assembly election from her home turf in Madhya Pradesh's Tikamgarh
constituency.

Last updated on Apr 1st, 2010 at 20:55 pm IST--IANS

http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a125478.html

.Once Uma approaches us, BJP will take stand: Gadkari

"We will finalise our stand when she tells me or some other leader,"
Gadkari said at a media meet here.

However, he was categorical that so far the leadership has not
initiated any dialogue with the firebrand Hindutva leader about her
return.

Uma Bharti last week resigned as president of the Bharatiya Jan Shakti
(BJS), a party she floated four years ago following her expulsion from
the BJP.

She was a senior leader of the BJP and a central minister who had
openly revolted against L.K. Advani in 2004, triggering her temporary
expulsion and a show cause notice.

Her expulsion was revoked later, but in 2005 she was sacked again when
she opposed the appointment of Shivraj Singh Chauhan as the chief
minister of Madhya Pradesh.

Last updated on Apr 1st, 2010 at 20:55 pm IST--IANS

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•BJP has not forgotten Ram temple: Gadkari (April 1)
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http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a125475.html

BJP has not forgotten Ram temple: Gadkari

Kolkata, April 1
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Nitin Gadkari Thursday
said his party has not "forgotten" the Ayodhya Ram temple issue.

Addressing the media here, Gadkari said: "Just because the (party)
president has changed, it does not imply that the policy has also
changed."

Gadkari was replying to a query as to whether the party has forgotten
the temple in Ayodhya as it was only talking about economic policies
and issues like price rise.

Last updated on Apr 1st, 2010 at 20:02 pm IST

http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a125455.html

Gadkari flays Congress for 'blacklisting' Amitabh

Kolkata, April 1
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Thursday
criticised the Congress for "blacklisting" Bollywood superstar Amitabh
Bachchan.

"Amitabh is a great actor of our country. He has enhanced India's
reputation worldwide. Just because madam (Sonia Gandhi) and
'rajkumar' (Rahul Gandhi) do not like him, Bachchan is being
blacklisted. This is shameful for Indian democracy," Gadkari said,
referring to the Congress criticism of the actor's presence at the
opening of the Bandra-Worli sealink.

"Is this the tolerance Jawaharlal Nehru preached? Is Amitabh a Dawood
Ibrahim?" Gadkari said.

Gadkari's reacted differently when asked about the resignation of the
vice chancellor of the Devi Ahilya University in Indore for inviting
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi to a programme.

"These two incidents should not be compared. University is meant for
education. Politicians should not be invited there.

"Yesterday, they invited Rahul. Tomorrow they will invite me and
education will suffer," he said.

Last updated on Apr 1st, 2010 at 20:40 pm IST--IANS

http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a125475.html

Indians on death row in UAE: Badal seeks PM's help

Chandigarh, April 1
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Thursday sought help from
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regarding 17 Indian youth, including 16
from Punjab, sentenced to death by a court in the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) on charges of murdering a Pakistani national.

In a letter to the prime minister Thursday, Badal urged him to
intervene immediately with the UAE government to ensure justice for
the youth.

Badal pointed that 17 people had been convicted for a single murder
and it looked out of place.

"Therefore, we have to be more cautious to see that there was no
miscarriage of justice," Badal said.

The chief minister also requested the prime minister to advise the
external affairs ministry to provide necessary legal aid to the youth.

Badal pointed out that labourers and skilled workers from Punjab had
worked day and night during last 25 years for infrastructure
development in the UAE and other Middle East countries.

He said that all these Punjabi youth were the sole breadwinners of
their respective families and most of them had mortgaged their small
land-holdings to arrange for their visa and visit to the UAE.

Last updated on Apr 1st, 2010 at 22:43 pm IST--IANS

http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a125498.html

One killed in shootout in Delhi

New Delhi, April 1
One person was killed in a shootout between two groups in Delhi,
police said Thursday.

“The shootout took place in the early hours of Wednesday in Bhajanpura
area in north-east Delhi. The deceased has been identified as Ajay,
who also had a criminal background,” a police officer told media
persons Thursday evening.

“Ajay was rushed to the G.T.B. Hospital where he was declared brought
dead,” the officer said.

“Five live cartridges have been recovered from the spot,” added the
officer.

Ajay was recently released from jail, and lived in Seelampur area.

“He was a member of a gang led by Lallu Pehlwan. The deceased had
committed several crimes in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh as well,”
added the officer.

But the police officials did not say how the shootout began, adding
further details were being investigated.

Last updated on Apr 1st, 2010 at 22:32 pm IST--IANS

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•Youth gets killed trying to save mother (March 30)
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•Robbers loot cash, jewellery from house in east Delhi (March 22)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a123081.html
•Part-time Bollywood actor held for murders in Delhi (March 24)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a123529.html

http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a125495.html

Six Pakistani LeT terrorists killed in Kashmir (Third Lead)

Jammu, April 1
The Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir police Thursday achieved a
major success, killing six Pakistani terrorists belonging to the
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in a four-hour long gun battle in Rajouri
district of the state.

The army had to use its paratroopers to neutralise the terrorists,
hiding in forests of Baghla in in Kalakote area of the district, 200
km north of Jammu.

A police spokesman said that the gunfight broke out around 1 p.m.
after the militants, asked to surrender, opened fire on the security
forces.

"The terrorists also lobbed grenades at the security personnel. The
fire was returned," he said.

Rajouri Senior Superintendent of Police Shafkat Watali told IANS over
phone that the killing of six terrorists is a "big success for the
security forces and a big blow to the LeT".

The six terrorists are suspected to be part of a group of infiltrators
that had crossed over to India early this week.

This was the second gun battle with the militants in Kalakote area in
the past three days. Four terrorists and three soldiers were killed
Wednesday after an 18-hour gun battle, which started Tuesday evening
in Kandi area in the forests of Rajouri.

Last updated on Apr 1st, 2010 at 22:43 pm IST--IANS

Possibly related news:

•Four terrorists, two soldiers killed in Jammu-Kashmir (March 31)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a125066.html
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http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a125408.html
•One militant killed in Jammu and Kashmir gunbattle (April 1)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a125393.html
•12 militants killed Jammu and Kashmir (March 27)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a124262.html
•Four LeT militants killed in Kashmir (March 27)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a124251.html

http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a125499.html

Kanu Sanyal, soldier of Naxalbari, dead -- old foes mourn (Lead)

Siliguri (West Bengal), March 23
Kanu Sanyal, who spearheaded the Naxalbari uprising in 1967 giving
birth to a Maoist movement that now threatens the Indian state, was
Tuesday found hanging in his humble home here. He was 78, an ailing
bachelor and a virtual pauper.

One of the founding members of the Left extremist movement in India,
no one could say why Sanyal killed himself. But police officers
maintained it was suicide.

His thatched home is located in the Siliguri sub-division of
Darjeeling district, where Sanyal and a select few made history over
four decades ago when they launched a violent peasant uprising in
Naxalbari village.

After endorsement of the bloody tactics by Mao's Communists, Naxalbari
became a household word in India and beyond, unleashing a violent
movement that continues to haunt the country.

Guided by Charu Mazumdar, a maverick who gave ideological shape to
that peasant movement, Sanyal helped found the Communist Party of
India-Marxist Leninist (CPI-ML), whose adherants came to be dubbed
Naxalites.

The CPI-ML, which quickly won recognition from Beijing, was born after
a crippling split in the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). It
unleashed violence across the length and breadth of India that left
many thousands -- Maoists, security personnel and civilians -- dead.

By the time the Indian state cracked down hard on the CPI-ML and its
general secretary Mazumdar died in Kolkata's Presidency Jail in July
1972, Sanyal was a broken man.

Although he distanced himself from Mazumdar's advocacy of annihilation
of "class enemies", Sanyal remained wedded to Maoist ideology - but
minus its gory past.

A graduate from Siliguri's A.C. College, Sanyal suffered repeated
imprisonment before he decided, in the 1980s, to reorganise the
scattered Indian Maoists.

The experiment was a failure although by now he was ready to take part
in the "bourgeois democracy" he had once denounced. However candidates
he put up lost badly in the hills of West Bengal.

All that disappointed him. Over the years, he not only suffered from
poor health but he was disgusted with the violent tactics of the
present lot of Indian Maoists, who incidentally consider Mazumdar as
their god.

Although an iconic figure in and around the village of Naxalbari, he
led a spartan life, keeping mostly to himself.

When the police entered his home Tuesday, they found few possessions
-- apart from his books, clothes and utensils and some framed black
and white photographs of leaders from the Communist pantheon.

In one of his last interviews, Sanyal said: "I was popular once. I
have lost my popularity. I am unwell. That is the reason I cannot
organise the masses any more."

Azizul Haq, one of his contemporaries from the Naxalbari era, shed
tears in Kolkata as he paid an emotive homage to his former comrade.

"Sanyal will be remembered as one of the best leaders of the Naxalite
movement," Haq told IANS. "Although he was ailing, he never took
treatment from any government hospital. His argument was he could not
approach the state when he was fighting it."

It was in the undivided Communist Party of India (CPI) that Sanyal
began his political career decades ago before switching over to the
breakaway CPI-M in 1964. Once he joined CPI-ML, the Naxalite leader
denounced both the CPI and CPI-M as revisionists.

But on Tuesday, his former ideological foes hailed him.

"He was a very popular leader in the early days of Naxalbari," CPI's
S. Sudhakar Reddy told IANS. "Although we disagree with his Maoist
ideology, he contributed greatly to the communist movement."

CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury said Sanyal's death was "very
unfortunate" and added that the Naxal leader had been critical of the
line adopted by the present Maoist guerrillas.

"After Nandigram and Lalgarh (in West Bengal), Sanyal had been saying
that the line adopted by Maoists do not conform to the revolutionary
understanding adopted when the Naxalite movement started," Yechury
added.

Possibly related news:

•Naxalite leader Kanu Sanyal dead, suicide suspected (March 23)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a123269.html
•CPI, CPI-M condole death of Kanu Sanyal (March 23)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a123389.html
•Goa MP wants ban on Sanatan Sanstha (March 19)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a122552.html
•Jailed legislator ready to mediate with Maoists (March 9)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a120171.html
•Congress wants minister sacked for Maoist links (March 11)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a120669.html

http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a123389.html

CPI, CPI-M condole death of Kanu Sanyal

New Delhi, March 23
The Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India-
Marxist (CPI-M) Tuesday condoled the death of Naxalite leader Kanu
Sanyal, who once violently opposed both parties.

Although they disagreed with their ideology for years, both the CPI
and CPI-M said that Sanyal contributed to the growth of the communist
movement in the country.

"He was a very popular leader in the early days of the Naxalbari
movement," CPI deputy general secretary S. Sudhakar Reddy told IANS.

"Although we disagree with his ideology of armed struggle, he had
contributed greatly to the communist movement."

Reddy said Sanyal had differences with the present Maoist movement,
led by the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist.

Sanyal was Tuesday found hanging at his house Siliguri in West Bengal.
He was 78. According to police, Sanyal had committed suicide.

He was one of the protagonists of the 1967 peasant uprising in
Naxalbari village that gave birth to the Maoist movement in India.

CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury said Sanyal's death was "very
unfortunate" and added that the Naxal leader had been critical of the
line adopted by the present Maoist guerrillas.

Last updated on Mar 23rd, 2010 at 18:35 pm IST--IANS

Possibly related news:

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•BJP slams US for 'flip-flop' over Headley access (March 23)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a123371.html

http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a123352.html

Maoists abduct five Jharkhand officials, free all (Second Lead)

Ranchi, March 20
Maoist rebels abducted five government officials, including an
additional district magistrate, at gun point from Latehar district in
Jharkhand Saturday noon, but released them a few hours later, police
said.

Latehar Superintendent of Police Kuldip Dewadi said more than five
armed Communist Party of India-Maoist rebels abducted the five
officials, including ADM Shrawan Soya, at gun point.

Others abducted were PWD officer H. Bhengra, assistant engineer Adish
Sayru Ram, dairy officer Vinod Sinha and driver Kiran Singh from
Bandhua village under Manika block of Lather district, the police
official said.

However, the rebels freed the men after five hours.

"The Maoists were afraid of the vigorous anti-Naxal (Maoist) offensive
launched by the police, and released all the abducted officials after
five hours," Dewadi said later.

The prompt action of the police forced the rebels to release all the
abducted men, he said.

The rebels Saturday also released four other workers, including junior
engineer Ranjeet Kumar, in Simdega district whom they had kidnapped
Thursday night. More than 15 Maoist rebels from the 'Hill Panther'
group abducted the four men working for the Ram Rekha Dam and looted
35 mobile phones, Rs.2 lakh in cash and one gun from the site, said a
police official.

Anti-Maoist operations are going on in five places in Jharkhand - West
Singhbhum, East Singhbhum, Bokaro, Hazaribagh and Seraikela districts.

“An inter-state operation has been launched against the extremists
simultaneously in seven-eight districts of Jharkhand and West Bengal,”
Neyaz Ahmad, Jharkhand director general of police, told reporters.

The operations are on mainly in the bordering districts of Jharkhand.
The West Bengal police are mounting vigil along the border to check
Maoist infiltration.

In Jharkhand, out of the 24 districts, Maoist rebels are active in 21.
About 1,900 people, including 350 security personnel, have been killed
in Maoist-related violence in the past few years.

Last updated on Mar 20th, 2010 at 18:17 pm IST--IANS

Custom Search Control
Web
.Maoists abduct five Jharkhand officials, free all (Second Lead)

Latehar Superintendent of Police Kuldip Dewadi said more than five
armed Communist Party of India-Maoist rebels abducted the five
officials, including ADM Shrawan Soya, at gun point.

However, the rebels freed the men after five hours.

"The Maoists were afraid of the vigorous anti-Naxal (Maoist) offensive
launched by the police, and released all the abducted officials after
five hours," Dewadi said later.

The prompt action of the police forced the rebels to release all the
abducted men, he said.

Anti-Maoist operations are going on in five places in Jharkhand - West
Singhbhum, East Singhbhum, Bokaro, Hazaribagh and Seraikela districts.

The operations are on mainly in the bordering districts of Jharkhand.
The West Bengal police are mounting vigil along the border to check
Maoist infiltration.

In Jharkhand, out of the 24 districts, Maoist rebels are active in 21.
About 1,900 people, including 350 security personnel, have been killed
in Maoist-related violence in the past few years.

Last updated on Mar 20th, 2010 at 18:17 pm IST--IANS

Possibly related news:

•Maoists abduct five officials in Jharkhand (March 20)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a122679.html
•Maoists kidnap five officials in Jharkhand, release all (March 20)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a122690.html
•Maoists kill Congress leader in Jharkhand (March 31)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a125037.html
•Jharkhand, West Bengal launch major hunt for Maoists (March 11)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a120663.html
•Major hunt for Maoists in Jharkhand, West Bengal (March 11)
http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a120714.html

http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a122723.html

Gafoor to head Maharashtra's anti-corruption bureau

Mumbai, Feb, 26
Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Hasan Gafoor, who served as city
police chief during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, was Friday
appointed director general of the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

Gafoor is at present the managing director of the Maharashtra State
Housing & Welfare Corporation. He will be succeeded in that post by
P.P. Shrivastava, who has been promoted to the rank of DGP.

The post of ACB chief was laying vacant after A.N. Roy was appointed
the state police chief.

Another senior officer, Sanjeev Dayal, will be the new DGP (Special
Operations) - a crucial post which was lying vacant since Jan 1 after
Jayant Umranikar retired. In the post, Dayal will oversee the working
of three critical units - the state Intelligence Department, Anti-
Terrorism Squad and Anti-Naxal Operations.

Gafoor was shunted out as DGP (Housing), after the 26/11 attacks. The
Pradhan-Balachandran Vommittee which enquired into the various aspects
of the terror attacks, indicted him, saying Gafoor failed to provide
"visible and overt leadership". However, the state government did not
accept this.

A few days before the first anniversary of the terror attacks last
year, Gafoor, in an interview to a newsweekly, blamed four city police
officials for not responding to the call of duty.

The comments kicked up a major controversy, prompting the state
government to seek an explanation from him.

Last updated on Feb 26th, 2010 at 21:05 pm IST--IANS

http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a118004.html

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Friday, April 02, 2010
BJP asks Indian govt to seek Headley’s extradition

* Party spokesman says US wants to protect ISI by resisting
interrogation of the terror suspect in India

NEW DELHI: The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday asked the
Indian government to formally seek the extradition of terror suspect
David Headley from the US.

The opposition party demanded the government to follow the extradition
treaty and the mutual legal assistance treaty it has with US to bring
Headley to India. “He must be tried in India for the massacre of so
many innocent people and be given the death penalty. India must never
miss this historic opportunity to establish once for all that Pakistan
indeed is the epicentre of international terror,” BJP chief spokesman
Ravi Shankar Prasad told a press conference. He asserted that the
bargain plea agreement between Headley and the US prosecutors was not
binding on India at all. Prasad said India should also implement two
UN resolutions-1373 and 1267, under which every country was obliged to
support the other country in the investigation and trial of terror
related offences.

Protecting ISI: Commenting on why the US was resisting Headley’s
extradition and interrogation by Indian officials, Prasad suspected
that the US might want to protect the ISI, as its involvement in
terror attacks on Indian soil would be exposed and said the Americans
should be reminded that the war against terrorism was being fought by
the whole world and not by a single country. The BJP spokesman
regretted that the judgement of the Mumbai attacks case, which would
be announced on May 3, would only punish Ajmal Kasab, Fahim Ansari and
Salahuddin Ahmad, without nabbing the main planners and financiers of
the attacks who were based in Pakistan. “Even the prosecution did not
dispute that the three who were tried for the Mumbai attacks,
including Kasab were only secondary players,” he said. Prasad said
that the trial of Kasab and others had highlighted the role of
Pakistan-based Laskhar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) in the Mumbai attacks but
expressed optimism that Islamabad would prosecute LeT chief Hafiz
Saeed and others despite the fact that India provided evidence against
them in a dozen dossiers, which were handed over to Pakistan. “The
reason is obvious. Many of the key conspirators behind the Mumbai
terror attacks have been the blue-eyed boys of the ISI and any fair
trial would expose the real face of the intelligence agency,” he
said.

Prasad said India must not lose any opportunity to get him back into
India, subject him to custodial interrogation, expose the entire
conspiracy including the fact that there is no difference between
state and non-state actors in Pakistan. The BJP spokesman said much of
the planning, conspiracy and logistical coordination was done by David
Headley before the terror attacks in Mumbai but saved himself from the
death penalty by entering into a plea bargain agreement in a Chicago
court. iftikhar gilani

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010%5C04%5C02%5Cstory_2-4-2010_pg7_38

Saturday, March 27, 2010 Praful Bidwai Is the Bharatiya Janata Party
obsessed with proving itself the sectarian, confrontationist oddball
of Indian politics? Last fortnight's developments suggest so. Take the
shenanigans of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. A Special
Investigation Team appointed by the Supreme Court to probe the 2002
Gujarat pogrom summoned him to question him about his role in the
killings. Many questions had been raised about his role by former
Gujarat Director General of Police RB Sreekumar, countless victims,
independent inquiries, and sting-operation disclosures by...

http://article.wn.com/view/2010/03/27/BJP_new_composition_same_stand/?template=cheetah-photographers%2Findex.txt

NEW DELHI, April 2, 2010 CBI must file appeal in Lalu assets case: BJP
Neena Vyas
Share · print · T+ With the Supreme Court on Thursday
rejecting the Bihar government's right to appeal against the acquittal
of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad in the disproportionate
assets case, the Bharatiya Janata Party demanded that the Central
Bureau of Investigation file an appeal.

Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “We do not want to
comment on the Supreme Court. However, we do feel that the trial
court's judgment of acquittal in the case was most vulnerable in law
and the CBI must appeal against it.”

He said the CBI had, in fact, wanted to appeal against the trial court
verdict, but “some legal advisers in Delhi” were against the appeal,
and, therefore, no appeal was filed.

It was only because the CBI did not appeal against the acquittal
verdict that the Bihar government decided to appeal in the Patna High
Court. The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the State government
did not have the right to appeal.

The Apex Court's ruling comes just months ahead of crucial Assembly
polls in Bihar. The BJP fears that the ruling coalition in the State,
of which it is a part along with the Janata Dal (United), will not be
able to exploit the assets case politically during the election.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article365029.ece

NEW DELHI, April 2, 2010 Vested interest in U.S. will scuttle access
to Headley: BJP
Special Correspondent
Share · print · T+ The United States' commitment to fight
terrorism globally is being tested, as also India's strategic
partnership with America, on the issue of David Coleman Headley's
extradition to India and his custodial interrogation by Indian
agencies, the Bharatiya Janata Party said on Thursday.

Spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad's charge against the U.S. was that
the case of Headley, who pleaded guilty of being part of the 26/11
terror plot, gave the impression that America was “soft” on terror
when India was the target.

Referring to some reports that Headley might have been a double agent,
Mr. Prasad said that possibly vested interests in the U.S.
establishment did not want his role to be fully exposed. However, for
India and the world, it was crucial that the role of Lashkar-e-Taiba
operatives in Pakistan and the involvement of the Inter Services
Intelligence and Pakistan's Army in the Mumbai attack plot was
exposed.

Headley's was a “copybook case for extradition,” Mr. Prasad said. The
extradition agreement between the U.S. and India apart, two United
Nations resolutions (1373 and 1267) obligated every country to support
others in the investigation and trial of terror suspects.

The BJP demanded that the government take immediate steps to secure
Headley's extradition and ensure that he faced trial in India for the
death of 166 innocent victims of the 26/11 attacks. It would be in the
interest of the global fight against terrorism to expose the Lahore
and Karachi angle of the conspiracy.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article365039.ece

NEW DELHI, April 2, 2010 Child rights panel to monitor RTE
implementation
Aarti Dhar
Share · print · T+ The National Commission for Protection of
Child Rights (NCPCR) has been mandated to monitor the implementation
of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

A special division within the panel will undertake this task in the
coming months and a special toll-free helpline to register complaints
will be set up.

The NCPCR has invited all civil society groups, students, teachers,
administrators, artists, government officials, legislators and members
of the judiciary apart from all other stakeholders to join hands and
work together to build a movement to ensure that every child of this
country is in school and gets at least 8 years of quality education.

The Right to Education Act, 2009 — that became effective from Thursday
— makes elementary education a fundamental right under Article 21 (A)
of the Constitution. Every child in the age group of 6-14 will be
provided elementary education in the age-appropriate classroom in the
vicinity of his/her neighbourhood. Any cost that prevents a child from
accessing school will be borne by the State which shall have the
responsibility of enrolling the child as well as ensuring attendance
and completion of eight years of schooling. No child will be denied
admission for want of documents, no child will be turned away if the
admission cycle in the school is over and no child will be asked to
take an admission test.

Into the mainstream
Children with disabilities will also be educated in the mainstream
schools. Further, all private schools shall be required to enrol
children from weaker sections and disadvantaged communities in their
incoming class to the extent of 25 per cent of their enrolment, by
simple random selection. No seats in this quota will be left vacant.
These children will be treated on a par with all other children in the
school and subsidised by the State at the rate of average per learner
costs in the government schools.

All schools will have to follow norms and standards laid out in the
Act and all private schools will have to apply for recognition,
failing which they will be penalised to the tune of Rs. 1 lakh and if
they still continue to function, they will be liable to pay Rs. 10,000
per day as fine.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article365043.ece

KAITHAL, April 2, 2010 Villages still in trauma after ‘honour-killing'
verdict
Vrinda Sharma
Share · Comment · print · T+
A FATHER'S PAIN: Har Krishan, whose son Ved Pal was killed for
marrying a girl from a neighbouring village. Photo: Vrinda Sharma
Related
TOPICS
India

Haryana

Two days after five people were given the capital punishment by a
court for the so-called honour-killing of a young couple here in
Haryana, the family members of the victims are more tense than they
are relieved. “The verdict has done justice to my son's death, but it
has not changed the way the village works,” says Chandrapati Berwal
who fought the legal battle.

She is the mother of Manoj, who along with Babli was murdered three
years ago by Babli's relatives on the orders of a ‘khap panchayat' for
having married within the same gotra. But Tuesday's landmark verdict
seems to have made little difference to the minds of the votaries of
the system of ‘khap panchayats', which are caste-based.

“The panchayat only intended to bring about a moral balance and
inculcate honour in youngsters, although its method was perhaps a bit
too harsh,” said a resident of the village, who refused to reveal his
name. Asked about the verdict, he said: “The panchayat killed two
persons and the court will kill five. At the end of it all the village
has lost seven lives. I don't see justice in any of the verdicts.”

“The villagers, who have boycotted us socially and financially, will
not change their mindset. The verdict has given a milder form of
punishment to the actual instigator, sarpanch Ganaga Raj,” said Ms.
Chandrapati. She alleged that panchayats could get away with giving
such harsh orders and executing them only owing to political backing
and the inefficiency of the police. For the last three years one
police constable has been guarding her doors, but since the verdict on
Tuesday the police presence around her house in Kerora village has
increased.

“Earlier there was one man, now there are two jeeps. But I and my
daughter are as unsafe as we ever were. The police could do nothing
when a few goons went after my son and his wife. What will the police
do if all of them barge into my house at once?”

A tense calm prevails in the dusty village. Nobody will publicly
discuss the matter, and except in Ms. Chandrapati's house none dares
to talk about it even indoors. Village sarpanch Karambeer Singh
refused even to come out of his house. The street where Babli once
lived wears a pall of gloom. The women in Babli's maternal house sit
with stony expressions and refuse to identify themselves or talk to
anyone, especially mediapersons, who are often seen as the villains
who exaggerated the issue.

“They tried to hide their sin from us, and then they tried to
threaten, boycott and even bribe us so that we keep quiet. My son will
not return but they will bear the pain of their wrongs so that such
inhuman decisions are never taken by anyone,” she said.

A few kilometres from Ms. Chandrapati's village, in Matour village,
Hari Krishan cries with his son's photographs in his hands. His hope
is that a similar judgment would come in his case as well: his 23-year-
old son was lynched by a crowd for marrying a girl from the
neighbouring village. Ved Pal and his wife Sonia's marriage was
accepted by both the families as they were of the same caste although
the gotras differed. But later the ‘khap panchayat' instigated Sonia's
family to forcibly marry the 17-year-old to a 50-year-old man and
later kill Ved Pal.

“My son was killed by a mob because a panchayat felt that marrying a
girl from the neighbouring village was ‘incest'. And I was expected to
make peace with this explanation? After this verdict I feel that
unlike the politicians and the police, the law is not going to be
unjust to us. But the sarpanch [Ganga Raj] should have been given the
death penalty as he was the root cause of the trouble,” said Mr. Hari
Krishan.

Mr. Hari Krishan, who has cancer, said he too was approached by the
sarpanch of Sonia village for a compromise. “They offered me Rs.25
lakh. They think a father can forgive his son's murderer just because
he is poor. I will fight this case till the last drop of blood.”

This father then cried out aloud, and asked: “Because of the khap so
many families have lost their breadwinners. Why didn't they let them
live? What honour comes from giving widows and orphans to homes that
were otherwise happy?”

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article364946.ece

Ahmedabad, April 1, 2010 Order against summoning Modi not final:
Nanavati
Manas Dasgupta
Share · print · T+
AP Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi gestures during a function in
Gandhinagar on March 28, 2010. The Nanavati panel has told the Gujarat
High Court that the option to summon Mr. Modi in connection with post-
Godhra riots is still open. Related
NEWS
SIT completes Modi interrogation

Fully satisfied with questioning of Narendra Modi, says SIT chief

Modi says he recalled the events eights years back
SIT acting on Zakia Jaffrey's petition raising questions of state
complicity

TOPICS
India

Gujarat

crime, law and justice

inquiry

unrest, conflicts and war

riots

The G.T. Nanavati-Akshay Mehta judicial inquiry commission probing the
Godhra train carnage and the post-Godhra communal riots in 2002 told
the Gujarat High Court on Thursday that its September 18, 2009 order
rejecting the plea of the Jansangharsh Manch to summon Chief Minister
Narendra Modi for cross-examination was “not a final order.”

A letter written by the commission secretary was submitted to the High
Court by Advocate-General Kamal Trivedi. The court had not opened the
sealed cover and ordered that it be kept in the records until further
orders. But, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S.J.
Mukhopadhyaya and Justice Akil Kureshi told the Manch's counsel that
the commission had not taken a “final” decision on not summoning Mr.
Modi. The next hearing on the Manch petition seeking a direction to
the commission to summon the Chief Minister was posted for June 17.

The commission's letter was in response to the March 22 court
directive seeking a clarification on its stand on the Manch plea for
summoning Mr. Modi.

Manch petition

Manch advocate Mukul Sinha had filed the petition following the
commission's September 2009 order in which it had ignored its plea to
summon Mr. Modi but had asked only three of his personal secretaries
to submit details of mobile phone calls during the 2002 communal
riots.

Besides Mr Modi, the Manch, in its application to the commission on
August 31, 2007, also demanded summoning of the then Minister of State
for Home Gordhan Jhadaphia, the then Health Minister and presently
Speaker Ashok Bhatt, and the then Deputy Commissioner of Police in
charge of the affected areas R.J. Savani, among others.

The commission rejected the plea saying it did not find the demand for
cross-examining Mr. Modi and others justified, following which the
Manch filed the petition in the High Court. A single judge Bench had
earlier rejected the Manch petition.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article360551.ece

Gandhinagar, March 28, 2010 Modi says he recalled the events eights
years back
PTI
Share · print · T+ When the mediapersons pointed out that he
had been in the dock for the last 8 years over the riots, Mr. Modi
shotback with a smile, "You have still kept me in the dock."

Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who was questioned in two marathon
sessions by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT in a Gujarat riots case,
has said he recalled to the extent possible the sequence of events
that had taken place eight years ago.

Claiming that his quizzing, the first since the communal violence of
2002, has concluded, he declined to go into the details of his
questioning, saying that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has to
submit its report to the apex court.

“I have been told by SIT that your work is over”, 59-year-old Mr. Modi
said at 0100 hours on Sunday emerging from the second round of his
questioning at the SIT office at the old secretariat building.

Mr. Modi claimed he had answered all questions put by the SIT and that
he had recalled to the extent possible the sequence of events that had
taken place eight years ago.

The Chief Minister said his statement was recorded by the SIT
investigators after which he signed it.

Asked what sort of questions he was asked, Mr. Modi said, “I cannot
share that with you because the SIT has to submit its report to the
Supreme Court.”

Though there was no official word on the questioning, Mr. Modi is said
to have replied to 62 of the 68 questions put to him in the five-hour-
long first session that had begun at noon on Saturday.

Mr. Modi returned to the SIT office at 9 pm and faced a second round
of questioning for four hours as he was keen that the entire exercise
be completed in one day.

The BJP leader is facing allegations of omission and commission with
regard to the mob attack on a housing society in which a former
Congress MP Ehsan Jafri and 68 others were killed. He was questioned
by a team of officers headed by A K Malhotra, a former CBI DIG.

When pointed out that he had been in the dock for the last eight years
over the riots, a smiling Mr. Modi said, “You have still kept me in
the dock.”

“Vistaar se batcheet ki (we spoke in detail),” he said, adding, “Under
the Indian Constitution, the law is supreme. As a common man, CM, I am
bound by the Indian Constitution and the law. No one can be above the
law.”

SIT chairman R. K. Raghavan was not present in his office when Mr.
Modi appeared in the first session in response to the panel’s summons.

“This was the first time in eight years that someone wanted to speak
to me on the issue and I attended that”, Mr. Modi said.

Taking a dig at his critics, he said, “God give good sense to those
who said I have not spoken for eight years.

“I hope that today’s happening will give good sense to those who are
keen to spread misinformation and those who spread lies”, the Chief
Minister said.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article318173.ece

NEW DELHI, March 28, 2010 Modi is law-abiding: BJP
Neena Vyas
Share · Comment · print · T+ Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi's declaration that he was committed to the Constitution
of India and the rule of law was on Saturday held up by the Bharatiya
Janata Party as a shining example for all.

“Mr. Modi has always declared he will abide by the law. He has high
regard for the Special Investigation Team appointed by the Supreme
Court and on Saturday he appeared before it. He answered questions put
to him by the SIT and what he said is now between him and the SIT,”
BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told The Hindu over
telephone from Patna.

He said it was true the party had reservations about “certain
activists” who have revelled in “Modi-baiting” and were silent about
victims of terror attacks and naxal violence. “Is it that those
victims do not need justice,” Mr. Prasad asked.

Mr. Modi's first round of questioning by the SIT lasted five hours
ending at around 5.30 p.m.

Party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman, who held up Mr. Modi as an
honourable law-abiding man, lashed out at the media for wrongly
reporting that he had been summoned by the SIT to appear before it on
March 21 when the truth was that he had been asked to accept a
mutually acceptable date in the week starting March 21. It was then
agreed that he would appear before the SIT on March 27 and he did.

She said the media was holding a trial of its own and was assuming
guilt when there was none. “He had only gone to assist the SIT and
cooperate with it,” she said. “The BJP respects the SIT and other
institutions and we work within the framework of law,” she said.

However, she did admit that the SIT was set up because the Supreme
Court was not satisfied by the manner in which the cases flowing from
the 2002 riots were being handled by the Gujarat police and the
Gujarat courts.

At some levels in the party, questions have begun to be asked whether
the BJP would treat Mr. Modi differently from how it has treated other
leaders. It was recalled that Madan Lal Khurana was forced to resign
as the Delhi Chief Minister as soon as his name figured in the
‘hawala' scandal although there was no formal charge sheet. Uma
Bharati was forced to resign as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister after an
old case related to hoisting of the national flag in Karnataka came
up. The question that is being asked is whether Mr. Modi will be asked
by the party to put in his papers if an FIR were to be filed against
him.

Ms. Sitharaman on Saturday found fault with a reported statement by
the Law Minister advising Mr. Modi to cooperate with the SIT. “Such
advice is unacceptable,” she said.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article317800.ece

NEW DELHI, March 28, 2010 SIT acting on Zakia Jaffrey's petition
raising questions of state complicity
Special Correspondent
Share · Comment · print · T+ The Special Investigation
Team, which interrogated Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on
Saturday, is acting on a petition filed by Zakia Jaffrey and the
Citizens for Justice and Peace. That petition alleged the involvement
of Mr. Modi and 61 other senior politicians, police officers and
bureaucrats from the State in the mass killing of Muslims in Gujarat
following the Godhra incident of February 27, 2002.

Among the questions the petition raised were:

— Why were there no minutes of the meeting which Mr. Modi held with
senior officers for a review of the situation arising out of the
Godhra train burning incident?

— There are some State intelligence reports of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad
meeting held at 4 p.m. at Ahmedabad on February 27, 2002. Who attended
this meting? Were any elected members of the Gujarat legislature and
the State Cabinet present?

— Why were the bodies of the victims of the Godhra train carnage
brought to Ahmedabad, and why were they paraded in streets? Who took
that decision? Did senior police officials or the DGP report to the
Chief Minister or higher officers in writing about the likely
repercussions of parading the bodies?

— Why was no preventive action taken when a bandh call had already
been given by VHP?

— Why was the Army not called out immediately and why was there a
delay in the deployment of the Army when it reached Ahmedabad?

— Why was there a delay in the declaration of curfew in Ahmedabad on
February 28, 2002 when curfew in other cities was declared
immediately?

— Despite rules for this, why was there no arrangement for videography
of the violence by mobs in all districts of the State?

— Why were more Muslims killed in police firing during riots when it
is well known that Muslims were the target of the mob violence?

— Why was the response to distress calls from prominent Muslims like
Ehsan Jafri delayed?

— Why was there no monitoring of the instructions of senior officials,
including Chief Secretary, officials of the Home Department and the
DGP?

— Why was there no action against officials who failed to register
FIRs and why was there no adequate response to the complaints of riot
victims?

— Why was no action taken against supervisory officers, from district
superintendents of police to the level of police commissioners and
DGP, who violated the Gujarat Police Manual by not properly
supervising the investigations of serious riot-related crimes and
thereby committing culpable omission and grave misconduct?

— Why was no action taken on the supervisory officers whose negligent
supervision of the Bilkis Bano and Best Bakery mass massacre cases led
to those trials being transferred by the Supreme Court to Maharashtra?

— Why has there been no further investigation of the depositions of
IPS officer Rahul Sharma before the Nanavati Commission, to reveal the
location of BJP leaders and senior officers of police during the
riots?

— Many calls were made to Modi, his Cabinet Ministers, the then
Ahmedabad Police Commissioner, P.C. Pandey, and the then DGP, K.
Chakravarti, during the riots. Their phone records must be examined to
unearth the facts.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article317971.ece

http://beta.thehindu.com/search/simple.do

Sonia-Rahul not anti-Bachchan: Amar Singh
IANS, Apr 1, 2010, 04.56pm IST

Amitabh BachchanThe Congress' attacks on mega star Amitabh Bachchan
over being brand ambassador of Gujarat have not been at the behest of
party president Sonia Gandhi or her MP son Rahul Gandhi, expelled
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh said Thursday.

"Personally, I have full faith that this whole act (the Congress'
statements) could not have been done at the level of Sonia Gandhi and
Rahul Gandhi," Amar Singh, a close friend of Bachchan, said in the
latest post on his blog. Amar Singh said he had interacted many times
with the top leadership of the Congress on political issues but had
not found any streak of vindictiveness in them.

The Congress had asked Bachchan to clarify whether he, as brand
ambassador for Gujarat, endorsed the 2002 riots in the state even as
Chief Minister Narendra Modi himself is being questioned in the matter
by a Supreme Court appointed investigation team.

But referring to the Gandhi family, Singh said: "The family, whose
daughter is sensitive to the killer of her father, the family which
has piety even for those who had committed this detestable act, their
heart cannot be so harsh to the family of Dr Harivansh Rai Bachchan
and Teji Bachchan, leave Amitabh."

He said proof of this was that Bachchan's daughter-in-law Aishwarya
Rai got the Padma Shri award during the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) government's rule and Bachchan was given the best actor award.
He said some of his associates feel the "unnecessary propaganda" has
been started by a person "who wanted me to make anti-Congress remarks
in my love for Bachchan".

While Singh has openly criticised Bachchan's wife Jaya Bachchan for
staying put in the Samajwadi Party, he defended the mega star over his
acceptance of Modi's offer to be brand ambassador of Gujarat. Singh
said: "Leave Modi to the Supreme Court and the Bachchan family to its
art and culture." Recounting that he and Bachchan shared the dais at
Pune Tuesday, Singh also took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party's
(BJP) "sudden love" for the actor. Singh added BJP leader L.K. Advani
and the late Pramod Mahajan had rejected Bachchan's plea to take steps
to prevent disruption of the world beauty pageant in Bangalore in
1996. "Today, BJP has suddenly realised the actor in Amitabh.
Whichever the party, honour and dishonour of an artist should have
permanence and should not be based on political self-interest," he
said.

Asserting that there was a vast difference between the "communal
politics" of Modi and promoting tourism in Gujarat, Singh said film
director "Yash Chopra and actor Shah Rukh Khan had made films on BJP
leader and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and they
continued to be close to parties opposed to the BJP as well". He said
actor Salman Khan too has canvassed for his friends both in the BJP
and the Congress.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Sonia-Rahul-not-anti-Bachchan-Amar-Singh-/articleshow/5751214.cms

ABVP calls for Bihar bandh

News Desk - March 31, 2010 PATLIPUTRA —

Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the state-wide
bandh called by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthy Parishad (ABVP) tomorrow to
protest against police lathicharge on its activists at the secretariat
police station on March 29.
State police headquarters sources said all the police stations have
been put on a maximum alert and patrolling was intensified to ensure
normal movement of trains and vehicular traffic.

Police personnel would be posted at the universities and colleges, the
sources said.

ABVP General Secretary Amritanshu said the VHP and Bajrang Dal
extended their support for tomorrow’s shutdown.

He said the strike has also been called to protest against Nitish
Kumar government’s move to set up a unit of the Aligarh Muslim
University at Kishanganj in Bihar.

- AGENCIES

6 Responses to “ABVP calls for Bihar bandh”

i do understand the apprehension of A.B.V.P but having said that i
also believe that empowerment of MUSLIMS should be given utmost
priority otherwise the community would remain laggard for years to
come. The AMU at kisanganj should spearhead a revolution in the
empowerment of Muslims and bring it closer to the mainstream INDIA.

NISHANT KUMAR April 1st, 2010 4:52 pm

I think setting up AMU central university branch is good move.

Sandip April 1st, 2010 3:03 pm

thanks guys for ur voice against abvp…that’s completely true that they
never initiated their step to bring central university in bihar and
now when somebody needs their appreciation they r protesting..shame on
abvp…
i don’t think anybody of them has truly been a vidyarthi,just dirty
politician..baba come out of politics and go earn ur livelihood,u r no
more needed in the politics of bihar..
i appeal to biharis to come together against this kind of unwanted
strike,pls let bihar grow with its current speed….

ghazanfar April 1st, 2010 12:46 pm

I condemn the protest of AVBP. They are doing it for cheap popularity.
I appriciate the police lathi charge on AVBP activist.

JAI BIHAR!
Acha Bihari Banye

Raman Gopal April 1st, 2010 9:42 am

BJP or ABVP doesn’nt set-up any university or college in Bihar . Now
when AMU is being set-up they are creating ruckus and theories to
oppose the educatinal development in bihar.
Creating educational institues will mobilise Biharis youth on the
right path of education . nitihs kumar should open more instituion in
Bihar , Muslim colleges, Christian college, Buddhist coleges , jain
colleges all is welcome to start in Bihar .
Jai bihar !! All is well !! Jai Buddha !!

BJP Goes cheap April 1st, 2010 4:55 am

Hey what happened to thakrey’s support. That will be really great .
ABVP should have requested Bjp for that.

Where was abvp when no central university was in Bihar, just to make
some noise…. Good work abvp…. No wonder bjp is going down

Krishna April 1st, 2010 2:47 am

http://jaibihar.com/abvp-calls-for-bihar-bandh-tomorrow/201018633.html

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Ruckus-over-cow-meat--BJP-MLAs-suspended--marshalled-out-of-House/598432/

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3DLBkRzRMc&feature=youtube_gdata

...and I am Sid Harth

and/or www.mantra.com/jai

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Apr 9, 2010, 10:17:30 PM4/9/10

SuryaArya

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Apr 10, 2010, 12:39:57 AM4/10/10

http://www.angelfire.com/oh/Monkeys2/images/NGMonkey.jpg

Steve Hayes

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Apr 10, 2010, 12:48:13 AM4/10/10

On Fri, 9 Apr 2010 21:39:57 -0700 (PDT), SuryaArya <whit...@inbox.com>
wrote:

> Jai Maharaj is a sad monkey

Well cheer him up then.

--
Terms and conditions apply.

Steve Hayes
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navanavonmilita

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Apr 10, 2010, 5:23:43 AM4/10/10

> Since newsgroup posts are being removed
> by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
> this post may be reposted several times.

Monday, February 8, 2010
Uncivilized Practices of the Civil Society

By Gladson Dungdung first published in Jharkand Mirror. It provides a
very crucial insight into the view of society towards adivasis in
India.

The term ‘Civil Society’ is mostly used for voluntary organizations,
non-governmental organizations and non-profit institutions. These are
also called as civil society organizations. Interestingly, most of
these organizations are always busy in criticizing the state (which is
of course not wrong as the state is a failure), but they themselves
behave like the state when it comes to the issues of Adivasis, Dalits
and Women of D-section (deprived sections), even though they have also
failed in delivering justice to marginalized peoples. Most of these
organizations are led by elites even after 62 years of Indian
independence. They enjoy corporate rate salaries, luxurious
accommodations and air travel in the name of Adivasis, Dalits and
women of D-section. The misappropriation of funds in the name of
marginalized groups remains uncounted, despite that they are masters
in lecturing on the issues of responsibility, transparency and
accountability.

There are very interesting kinds of so-called civil society
organizations – 1) based in the small cities or villages and getting
less funds, 2) headquartered in Delhi and other big cities and bagging
huge funds, and 3) NGO federations called people’s organizations.
Perhaps, the secretary, director and chief functionaries of these
organizations are never replaced against their will, though they talk
much about democracy. These civil society organizations also bring the
mass organizations, social movements and displacement movements into
their clutches and cash these in dollars, euros and pounds. Don’t be
surprised if some organizations based in Delhi show you a beautiful
power point presentation about the Adivasi movements against
displacement in Jharkhand, Orissa or Chhatishgarh.

There are also the holy cows called ‘funding agencies’ (national and
international), who love to be called civil society organizations,
whose prime job is to collect the money, enjoy most of it and give the
rest to other organizations. Ironically, these organizations fund
those NGOs headed by non-Adivasis for the revival of Adivasi
tradition, culture and ethos, but at the same time they avoid joining
hands with Adivasi-headed organizations for the same purposes. The sad
part is, the Adivasis are still unqualified for the funding
organizations; therefore, a few Adivasis can be seen in the lowest
strata of these organizations, despite their professional qualities,
commitment and dedication. There are also some organizations who
advocate for the Adivasi Chief Minister for the state of Jharkhand,
but when it comes to the matter of their organizations, they cannot
bear to see an Adivasi in the driving seat. They also advocate for
promotion and protection of Adivasi languages, but their doors are
always closed for the non-English speaking, marginalized people.

These organizations tirelessly use the connotation ‘empowering the
marginalized’, ‘voice to the voiceless’ and ‘women empowerment,’ but
when it comes to the question of leadership, they just escape in one
way or the other. Why did the civil society organizations fail in
bringing up the Adivasi leadership was the most important question
repeatedly asked in the National Consultation on Adivasis of India
organized by the National Centre for Advocacy Studies (NCAS) in Delhi
on December 15-16, 2009. A noted Gandhian and founder of the Ekta
Parishad, P.V. Rajgopal, accepts in denial mode that the civil society
organizations have failed in bringing up the Adivasi leadership but he
also advocates for a united fight by saying, “The issue like
displacement is not just limited to the Adivasis but it is also
hitting the farmers, vendors and fishermen.” But does it mean that the
question of Adivasis get less priority?

Ironically, the non-Adivasi leaders of the civil society organizations
not only respond diplomatically but also justify their leadership of
the Adivasis. While responding to the questions of Adivasis
leadership, a prominent social activist from Jharkhand, Sanjay Bosu
Mullick, says, “Since the Adivasis do not know about the exploitative
system and structure of our (non-adivasis) society, therefore we are
fighting with our people on behalf of them.” One can only appreciate
this diplomatic response and thank the God who has given wits, wisdom
and knowledge only to the non-Adivasis for not only understanding
their society but also the Adivasis, and shame on those Adivasis (like
me) who do not even possess the wisdom to understand their own
society.

The reality is that the Adivasis are racially discriminated, exploited
economically and denied their rights in the civil society
organizations. Similarly, the Dalits are treated like untouchables,
uneducated and inhuman, and the women of D-section are not only
exploited socially, economically and mentally but they are also
exploited sexually by the Big-bosses of the civil society
organizations. The irony is, our participation is for them is to
listen to our sorrows patiently through their tongues in a conference
hall, give our consent to their words and always make sure that they
are our messiahs. How would you explain it when your wisdom,
commitment, dedication, capacity and efficiency do not matter for them
but your race, caste, class, colour and relationship possesses
multiple values for them instead?

When the Adivasis enter into these organizations, especially in the
funding ones, their years of work experience are counted as one or two
years (so that they can be kept in the lowest strata), they are
compared with their counterpart (always a non-adivasi is used as a
parameter for them) for further promotion and their ten achievements
are not enough to beat the couple of achievements of a non-Adivasi.
When one raises these issues in the organizations, they would
manipulate, manufacture consent with their colleagues and dilute the
whole debate to ensure that the Adivasis lose the game. Finally, if
the Adivasis leave these organizations, they would frame them as
opportunists, non-committed to the Adivasi cause and counted as one
more enemy of the Adivasis.

One can question that why are the marginalized people of these
organizations keeping quiet in these circumstances? The instant answer
is, a wage labourer bears all kinds of discrimination, exploitation
and torture only because he/she knows that the day a question is
raised, he/she would be thrown out of the job. Similar theory is
applied to the marginalized people, who are ensuring their daily bread
from these civil society organizations. How can one dare to question
the big-boss, when he/she is just struggling for survival? Can you
imagine how the marginalized people are being exploited, denied and
discriminated against in those organizations, who tirelessly talk
about participation, empowerment, rights, equality and justice?

The fact of the matter is the perception, attitude and behaviour of
the elite heads of civil society organizations towards Adivasis,
Dalits and women of D-section are no different from the common people
of the so-called civilized society. They talk much about
participation, empowerment, rights, equality and justice merely to
ensure themselves a luxurious life, bag awards and become a role model
in the name of Adivasis, Dalits and Women of D-section; therefore,
they also play the game of words just like the politicians do. Can
anyone remind me about how many Adivasis, Dalits and women of D-
section were awarded (megasese) for their extraordinary work and
became a role model for all Indians?

Interestingly, the vision of these organizations is more or less the
same – formation of an equitable and just society, but the pertinent
question is how the utopian vision can be achieved through
discriminatory, inequitable and unjust practices? In fact, the elite
heads of the civil society organizations should stop their uncivilized
practices, which they are carrying out for decades. It is the right
time to let the marginalized people play their own game, become
umpires and take over as the match referee. And the elites should only
become the fourth umpires rather than playing match for the
marginalized people. Then only their talks about the empowerment,
equality and justice can be fulfilled.

Before civil society organizations organize the next consultation,
convention or conference on Adivasi, Dalit or Women’s Rights, all
marginalized people should stand up and say strongly that enough is
enough, let the Adivasis, Dalits and women of D-section speak for
themselves. The time has come to tell them (non-Adivasis heads) that
we are grateful to you for advocating on behalf of us for the last six
decades, but no more manipulation please. We are tired of hearing
about our grievances through your holy tongues; therefore, we want the
world to listen to our grievances through our mouths. We want to speak
for ourselves and we are capable enough to save our culture. But the
question that may remain unanswered is, will you, the Messiahs of the
Adivasis, Dalits and women listen us?

Gladson Dungdung is a Human Rights Activist and Writer from the
Adivasi (Indigenous) Community of Jharkhand. He can be reached at
gladsonh...@gmail.com

Posted by MAND at 2/08/2010 12:32:00 PM 0 comments Links to this
post
Labels: Adivasi, Civil Society

http://mandgoa.blogspot.com/search/label/Adivasi

Goa, Goa, Gone

Mining is Goa’s second-largest industry after tourism. 8% of this
state’s land is already under mining, mostly for iron ore. Now, mining
activity is intensifying across the state. So is the opposition of
citizens to this unregulated industry. This Infochange documentary
explores the impact of mining on Goa’s environment – one of the
world’s 12 biodiversity hotspots -- and livelihoods

Watch Video

Directed by: Kurush Canteenwala
Duration: 22 mins

http://infochangeindia.org/Infochange-documentary.html

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Thursday, February 18, 2010
Mining promotes Poverty in Goa
By Sebastian Rodrigues

Approaching the theme

Natural economies were very common as the penetration of capital was
limited. This is in spite of Goa being Portuguese colony till 1961.
Geological survey began in Goa in early 20th century and first mining
lease was granted in 1929 by the Colonial Portuguese regime. The
actual mining activities began in 1940s and the first consignment of
iron ore exported to Japan in 1948 to begin the economic recovery of
that war-torn country. It was entirely manual mining then till the
decade of 1970s when the mining sector in Goa began to be mechanized.
With manual mining it was not possible to dig deep into ground for
iron ore, manganese and bauxite and disrupt ground water flow.
Mechanized mining made this possible in effectively in 1980s. Mining
has never been nationalized in Goa and it remained entirely a private
sector even in the rest of the country mining sector was nationalized.

Natural economies prior to entry of mining refer to direct dependence
of people for livelihood on nature. The contacts were more direct
without any kind of mediation. Their labour was the only mediation. It
is labour that was required for the cultivation of paddy and harvest
bumper crops. It was labour that was required in order to get their
daily quota of fish. It was labour that was required in order to
cultivate various types of vegetable in the and available with
abundant supply water from natural sources. It was labour that was
required for the people in mining belt to carry on their slash and
burn agriculture –shifting agriculture - on top of hills. It was
labour that was needed in order to collect various kinds of ripe
fruits on the variety of trees in the forest. It was labour that was
required in order to go in search of edible roots for their staple
food. It was labour that was invested into going into the forest and
collecting various forest products and then to transform them into
various products for daily use such as brooms, mats, medicines etc.
The large number of people in Goa’s mining belt are tribals for whom
the barter economy – including exchange of labour for labour was a
most respected norm in the functioning of their life and economy that
was harmoniously integrated with ecology.

Feudal economies that emerged in Goa during Portuguese colonial regime
chiefly due to the focus on written record keeping procedures adopted
by the colonial state. The people – tribal as well as others for whom
written record keeping by the State was alien concept did not
understand the state insistence of piece of paper a indication of land
ownership. A class of people that helped to sustain the colonial power
of Portuguese in Goa were able to understand this and colonial power
bestowed the legal ownerships of land titles on these category of
people. These people were tiny minority in collusion with Portuguese
colonial State at best can be described as the class of people that
practiced usury. These class of people came to be known as Landlords
in feudal sense.

The mass of people in mining had community sense of land ownerships.
Their land control was bestowed in communities. These community land
ownership patterns were disrupted by the colonial State and never
repaired by post-colonial state in Goa. Few remaining community land
ownership institutions were taken over on landlord class and they were
given new name called communidades. The people who traditionally
enjoyed rights over these lands were excluded from the land titles.
This effectively paved way for the legal establishment of control over
community lands that later on would be parceled out for mining
companies. Section of community land belonged to the community
temples. These temples too were brought under legal control of the
upper caste landlord class through Mazania law in Post liberation Goa.
These set of State driven class controlled legal architecture put firm
foundation for the effective legal uprooting of the people from their
lands even though in large parts of Goa they continued to enjoy actual
possession of the land.

Mining leases granted during the Portuguese colonial regimes fits into
this complex legal context of alienating people from their lands.
Mining leases numbering around 791 and covering over 67,700 hectares
of land in 10 out of total 11 talukas of Goa. Indian government did
not embark upon any radical overturn of the Colonial architecture
prevalent in the State of Goa. In fact it re-enforced it through
various laws in post Liberation Goa; one of the chief ways being, it
legally legitimized the mining leases.

Process of impoverishment thus has been triggered off with the above
legal manipulations. Legally thus the entire people of Goa except the
landlord class remained under constant uncertainty, not knowing as to
when the actual disenfranchisement of actual possession would take
place. Legal the law is now against the people in mining belt. Mining
leases enjoyed supra power and legitimacy especially from the State
agencies such as the Police, Executive, governments and Judiciary.
Legal alienation cleared the path for greater and horror field
alienation – ecological alienation. Goa State from its very inception
in 1961 remained under firm control of the mining companies. Its first
two chief ministers were mine owners themselves for two decades.

When the mining begins

Mining is one type of activity wherein the end of entire
decentralization in governance becomes imperative. The nature of
mining is militaristic. It does not tolerate any dissent. It needs all
pervasive power over land, minerals under the land, and power of
public opinion. It needs to find its ways to aggressively extract the
minerals and ship it out towards Japan, China, Europe, US and other
countries too. Social engineering is embarked upon in very powerful
manner through iron control over the State, media, intellectuals and
public organizations. Dissent is put down with powerful impetus. The
benefit it derives from these de-humanizing tendencies are that it is
able to service the demands in the Global Political Economy for
minerals. Locally it is able to create handful of economic elites and
strengthen them further through economies of scale. This is a most
certain way towards creating inequality and repressive disharmony
leading towards poverty of mass of the people at the source
destination of the mineral extraction. In fact this has been the exact
way as to how things have unfolded in Goa.

Protests against the starting of mining have been put down with Police
force. Sometimes it has been done through lure of money and alcohol.
The farmers are lured into the benefits of accepting compensation for
the loss of their land. If they do not agree then they are implicated
in some false criminal cases are forced on to compromise table.
Whichever is the way of ‘sorting’ out the protestors the outcome is
common the person, families, and communities are violently forced to
cut their links with soil and land.

They cease to be cultivators. Poverty downs on to their lives and
consequences are unpredictable. There are number of villages wherein
this has been the reality in Goa. Pissurlem village in North Goa’s
Sattari taluka is a classic village to study the mining aggression and
poverty of people. This village has been most flourishing village in
agriculture. It was blessed with abundant greenery, forest cover,
natural water springs, paddy fields and of course the hard working
people. The village has been topmost producers of paddy in the entire
taluka of Sattari. All this changed dramatically. Not only coming of
miming has forced the people of mining to stop paddy cultivation, it
has also displaced the village twice and third displacement in
Dhatwada region is on cards. There are nearly seven mines functioning
in the area of various mining companies such as Sesa Goa – owned by
British Corporate Vedanta, Fomentos, Salgaocar, Chowgules etc. The
mountains have been razed down totally. These were once dense western
ghats forest areas. The silt from the mining areas has washed away
into the paddy fields and rendered the redundant. Protests of
villagers to remove the mining silt have been put off totally both by
the mining companies as well by the State. The natural springs that
were supplying water to the paddy fields have dried up as the mining
pits have gone deep underground and ground water remained terribly
disrupted. This has deprived the villagers of steady supply of food
for their living. It has also deprived them of steady supply of water
to take bath, cooking and drinking. The village is entirely dependent
upon the mining companies to meet their daily needs for water. Mining
companies has commissioned tankers to supply daily water into the
plastic water tanks placed outside the houses of the people. There is
direct deprivation of cultivation of paddy thereby creating situation
of food security. There is also creation of dependence on mining
companies for water. So far only air in the village is not supplied by
mining companies. But here too, lager number of lung diseases reported
at the local government health centre at Valpoi such as Tuberculosis
are from Pissurlem. The co-relation is not difficult to arrive at.
Polluted air with dust particles from mining activity including
transportation of ore in trucks causes air pollution.

But can one take this as indicators of poverty? Poverty is relative
concept. If one has to judge it from the point of view of access to
water and land then it is poverty for sure. But hold on. Here is
description of my last visit to Pissurlem few months ago. One striking
feature is a visible presence of cars in front of number of houses in
Pissurlem. Another feature is prevalence of mining trucks in front of
houses. Investigations reveal that large number of people in Pissurlem
have opted to buy trucks and get into mining transportation trade due
to close down of agriculture option. Some families have earned money
to buy cars afford a life in comfort. How one does judges this? Mining
companies are also supplying with monthly doles to families in
Pissurlem as a trade off for silence of the Villagers. So people have
got into the habit of accepting the monthly doles and become
insensitive to the collective ruin of the habitat and life support
systems. New mining leases in the meanwhile continue to get activated.
Few years ago this village has suffered massive floods due to mining
activities. Mining silt that got deposited in inside the people’s
houses was over one meter thick.

The village of Sirgao in Bicholim stands out in this context. The
number of people in the village that are challenging the three
operating mines in their village – Dempos that is taken over by
British corporate Vedanta, Chowgules, and Bandekars. They filed public
interest litigation in Goa bench of Bombay High Court in June 2008.
The court directed Nagpur based National Environment Engineering
Institute (NEERI) to conduct scientific study. NEERI submitted its
study in March 2009 confirming that mining activity has caused
depletion of ground water in the village causing drying up of village
wells and springs. It also confirmed that large amount of deposition
of mining silt has taken place in the agricultural fields of the
village and paddy cultivation has not been possible. NEERI submitted
the plan to rejuvenate the water sources and remove mining silt from
paddy fields at the cost of approximately 1.8 lakhs per hectare. The
total amount that mining companies would have to pay to NEERI to
restore Sirgao’s agriculture and recharge groundwater is Rs. 660.25
lakhs. What is the story of Sirgao that is proved scientifically is
the story of every village under mining in Goa. Water and Food
security of Goa is deeply threatened.

Colamb is another village in South Goa’s Sanguem taluka that is
currently battling mining industry. The number of mining leases are 23
that are covering large area of Colamb village. The village has total
areas of 1929 hectares and mining leases covers 1510 hectares of land.
The mining leases cover places of habitat, forest, natural water
bodies, paddy fields and everything else on the surface of the
village. Already in the past 10 years couple of mines that are
operating in the village has destroyed considerable amount of
agriculture. Alcoholism has increased many folds in the mining belt
with increased problems of alienation amongst both the locals as well
as migrants. Destruction of agriculture and forest and everything else
becomes a priority for the mining companies to carry on advancing into
the newer territories. Large variety of vegetables that people –
mostly tribals cultivated has vanished as the cultivation spaces has
been occupied by mining companies. The local river named Kushavati –
tributori of Zuari river - began to dry three years ago in the month
of May. This year State government has constructed check dams on
Kushavati river. But this is not the solution. Stagnant water do not
support any fish that used to be available in the river for the local
people to eat. Now there is no fish. The huge trees on the banks of
Kushavati rivers are affected with stagnant water and as a result
trees – according to local people’s wisdom – are dying. So it is
double problem of mining as well as the problem of river being
artificially flooded. Both of these are dangerous downslides as far as
standard of people in the locality are concerned.

The above are only few glimpses of the deeply deteriorating situation
due to mining industry in Goa. Only handful of people are financially
benefiting from the trade. The people in the Goa’s mining belt are
directly affected negatively. The industry is making people poorer by
the day. Financially due to trucks banks are benefiting, while the
people are loosing their land, water, agriculture, rivers and forest.
They are loosing this forever. Goa is loosing this forever. Mining
actively causes poverty in Goa. Its consequences are going to be
unpredictable and severe for the entire society.

Mining in Goa: testimonies

Dinanath Gaonkar, Sirgao

Mining has been going on in our village for over 45 years. When I was
young all these mining pits today were dense forest. In the forest we
used to go around and pick our wild fruits, medicines and even we had
our play ground on a small patch. All this has changed now. Mining
companies – three of them has come about in our village of Sirgao and
carried on mining excavation work. This has resulted in large scale
changes of our village. Few people got employment into the mines. And
large number of villagers was involved in cultivation of agriculture.
The changes that unfolded over the period of time has shocked us and
pushed the entire village into the state of ecological refugees. Our
forest is completely disappeared – chopped down by mining companies.
Our play ground id not traceable at all. In their place there are huge
mining pits.

The mining in the mountains has led to the washing of Ore into the low
lying paddy fields and over the last few years our agriculture has
come to the grinding halt. Our paddy fields has lost fertility and are
silted with run offs from the mining companies. What are we to eat?
Where are we to cultivate? How are we to live?

Presently we live like worms in our village. Not only our paddy fields
are silted but also our village springs and wells have gone dry
because of mining. The ore extraction inside the pits has gone so low
that the mining companies are continuously involved in pumping out of
ground water with high powered water pumps. The underground flow has
changed its course towards the mining pits. This has left all the
village springs and wells dry.

Some people in the village has benefited as they operate mining
trucks. But the long term interest of our village is terribly
compromised and gradually it is becoming unbearable to stay in the
village. Our ancestors came and settled here chiefly because there was
plenty of water available here. But all that has changed now. Water in
the village is becoming scarce day by day. Our village has changed
from once prosperous towards poverty due to open cast iron ore mining.

Our future generations can no longer hope to live in this village if
the mining goes on the way it going currently. When our villagers
objected for the transportation of Ore from the land legally owned by
us police came and arrested my fellow villagers. How are we to survive
this onslaught? Our demand it to create Sirgao village free from
mining.

Motesh Antao, Colomba

I am from Colomba village in Sanguem taluka. My family directly
affected due to open cast iron mining activities carried on at the
neighboring mine. Our agriculture is getting ruined as the siltation
and water shortages have resulted in reduced production of rice. This
is a case with many farmers in Colomba. Our traditional water ways has
been chocked with silt that got washed with rains and got accumulated
inside the water ways. This has also affected our daily schedules of
life in Peace and harmony.

Mining is being carried on inside forest areas. We are involved in
protesting against the mining industry in our village because it is
deriving towards poverty. I as well as my fellow villagers are facing
constant threats from the mining companies as well from the State
Police force. I have been arrested due to my protests against mining
nearly 8 times during past two years. My brothers as well as my
parents too have been arrested and number of criminal cases are filed.
Now I have to make regular trips to the Court of law in Quepem and
Sanguem.

Police officers on two occasions beat me up at the Police station
after calling me to the police station to collect information that I
had asked under Right to Information Act involving details of assets
of Police officers and their involvement in mining transportation.

There are all together 23 mining leases in my village of Colomba. Out
of which four are in operation currently. Another 4 are going for
Public hearing next month in March 2010. Our entire village is full
greenery in the form of Forest and Paddy fields. The places where
mines have started however are no longer green. The extraction of ore
has changed colour. Health of our villagers is deteriorating. Mining
has generated tensions and few people are getting affected with hearth
attacks that were unheard of till few years ago.

Our roads have become very dangerous to walk and drive on. There are
large number of truck carrying mining ore ply regularly creating
dangerous situation of the roads. Accidents are regular phenomena and
every now and then there are victims of accidents and some even
deaths.

How do I make my living in this situation? How does my fellow
villagers to make living when mining is doing away with our soil, our
paddy fields, our water sources, our forest and our dignity? How are
we to survive? I feel we can live peacefully and prosperously in the
village only when mining is stopped completely.

Sharmila Naik, Advalpal

My village of Advalpal is depended upon agriculture. It is also the
village with forest and hills. It is located in Bicholim taluka. In
our village there used to be mining in manual form nearly 40 years
ago. The there was accident on the mine and few people had died. Then
mines were stopped. However four years ago mines started again. This
time it was mechanized mining. Few companies came to our village,
offered money to the villagers and mines got started. However after
one year we realized how dangerous this mining was we started opposing
the mines. The mines has created very dangerous situation for my
village of Advalpal. Mines disrupted traditional water flow in the
village and our crop got flooded at the time of harvest. The mine
buried existing water lakes with mining silt. Further mining even dug
our crematorium space where our village used to cremate the dead of
our village.

Now the situation is bad as the traditional water bodies are dried up
due to mining. Natural springs of our village used to supply water to
drink for our villagers. Women folks also used gather together for the
washing of clothes at the springs. All this is now gone with drying up
of springs.

In June last year due to mining our village got flooded. Mining silt
was deposited into the houses of the people. It was very traumatic
moment for my family and villagers. Few houses got badly hit by the
floods.

Mining has also destroyed cashew crops and there are very few spaces
left for us to carry on with our cashew cultivation. We used to get
bumper crops every year but for the past few years not only the yield
has deteriorated but also the places where cashew trees existed has
been used for mining purposes. The large lake space that was used for
the purpose of bathing of cattle has been buried deliberately by the
mining company. Our cattle has no place to take bath now and mining
has led to disruption of agriculture of our village.

The lease boundary of the mining company extends to the middle of the
village main road. There are three mining leases that are in operation
here. One mining lease is currently stopped due to High Court order to
remove the silt that mining company has deposited in the village.
Mining company has not adhered to the High Court Order so far for the
past 4 months.

Now my family is forced to move out of Advalpal as there are no
sources of living left in the village. Number of other families too
facing similar situations. Where are we to look for our survival in
the context of mining?

In May 2008 there was a major revolt in our village against mining. We
marched on the mine site and stopped the work by force. Then we got
together and protested outside the office of Deputy Collector,
Bicholim for one week. Number of police cases are filed against us.
Nearly 70 people have to attend the court hearings regularly at
Bicholim Court. Mining companies got police protection and carried on
their operations.

Few people of our village who own trucks benefit from the mining
industry. The rest of us get no benefit at all. In fact our village is
losing terribly and I feel mining has to stop once and for all.

Posted by MAND at 2/18/2010 11:54:00 PM 0 comments Links to this
post
Labels: Advalpal, Colamb, Mining, Poverty, Research, Sirgao
Thursday, December 10, 2009

Goa Police as the State Agency of Repression in Goa’s mining belt:
2007-2009
By Sebastian Rodrigues

Abstract

Of late there has been intense resistance to open cast iron ore,
bauxite and manganese mines in Goa. Often branded as ‘backbone of
Goa’s economy’ mining industry has been at the receiving end of public
criticism for transforming itself as ‘rogue industry’ causing enormous
harm to the ecology, agriculture, water sources, as well as traffic
congestion, air pollution, sound pollution, and large scale sicknesses
caused due to air pollution, water pollution and entry of migrant
labour.

While the village groups in different parts of the State of Goa have
expressed problems caused due to the mining industry in legitimate
manners; within the ambit of the Constitution of India, State-
Corporate nexus have responded to these concerns with repression. Goa
Police has been its most preferred agency of repression over the past
few years. This papers documents and analyzes the behavior of Goa
Police in Goa’s mining belt from 2007 to 2009 – the period that has
witnessed heightened resistance.

Amongst the methods of intimidation followed by Goa Police includes
visits by secret police known as CID (Criminal Investigation
Department) to the houses of villagers, calling up at odd hours in the
night, verbal threats, physical violence while in custody, non-
interference while protestors are attacked by mining truck owners,
humiliation tactics by putting slate around the neck and
photographing, filing of false cases, filing of charge sheets further
the proceedings in judicial courts, threatening to ban entry into the
mining villages by imposing Tadi Par, confiscating the buses used for
traveling for protest marches, confiscating and tearing down of
posters with slogans against mining companies, monitoring movements of
villagers protesting mining industry, tapping of telephones of people
opposed to mining industry, indulging in physical violence in the form
of Lathi Charge against the villagers protesting mining industry,
filing of criminal cases against the lawyers defending villagers
opposing mining industry, refusing or ignoring complaints filed by
villagers against officials of mining companies, and investigating the
opponents of mining industry as ‘Naxalites’.

The paper problemitizes the role of state funded Police force and
questions the partial and partisan role played Goa Police that is
unbecoming of public servants and suggests ways to change behavior
pattern of Goa Police as protector of ‘public’ interest and not the
interest of the mining companies.

I. Introduction

Open cast mining industry dealing with Iron Ore, Manganese and Bauxite
has its prevalence in Goa since 1948 when 100 tonnes of Iron Ore was
exported to Japan for the first time, from the times under Portuguese
Colonial rule. The industry is basically dig and sell economy located
in around 68,000 hectares of land fragmented into 791 mining leases
granted during Portuguese colonial regime. Open cast mining of this
major industry is principally for export purpose to various countries
of the World with Japan being the prominent destination since 1948. In
fact Goa’s Ore played major role in resurgence of Japan after being
reduced to ashes during the World War II that culminated in dropping
of Atom bombs by Americans on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in August 1945. However China overtook Japan as a leading
destination of Goa’s mineral exports during past few years. In fact
during 2008-2009 Goan exports of ore to China constituted 86%
(32,763,721 tonnes) while next to follow is Japan with 9% (3,557,775
tonnes). Europe (Italy, Netherlands and Rumania) got 2% of Goa’s iron
ore exports (680,513 tonnes), South Korea got 1% of Exports (545,228
tonnes), Pakistan got 1% of exports (258,029 tonnes), and Middle East
(Qatar, Kuwait, Dubai and Saudi Arabia) got 1% (231,457 tonnes).
African nation Kenya got fraction of it too - 38,500 tonnes.

According to the selected statistics (Amended upto March 31, 2009) on
Goan Mineral Ore Exports Compiled by Goa Mineral Ore Exporters’
Association Goa’s exports particularly of Iron Ore has been increasing
at rapid pace. During 2005-2006 it was 25,537,924 tonnes, In 2006-2007
it rose to 30,893,953 tonnes. In 2007-2008 it increased to 33,434,429
tonnes. In 2008-2009 exports jumped to 38,075,223 tonnes out of which
32,629,521 tonnes is to China alone.

Mining companies involved in Goan Iron Ore exports during 2008-2009
includes miners, transporters and real estate companies. The list is
as follows: Sesa Goa Limited, V.S. Dempo & Company Pvt. Ltd.,
Sociedade de Fomento Indl. P. Ltd., Prime Mineral Exports Pvt. Ltd.,
Fomento (Karnataka) Mining Co. P. Ltd., V.M. Salgaoncar & Bro. Pvt.
Ltd., V.M. Salgaoncar Sales International, Chowgule & Company Pvt.
Limited, Chowgule & Co. (Salt) Pvt. Ltd., Chowgule & Co. Pvt. Ltd.
(Mandovi Pellets), Salgaoncar Mining Industries P. Ltd., Timblo
Private Limited, Timblo Enterprises, Damodar Mangalji & Co. Ltd.,
Bandekar Brothers, V.G. Mehta Exports, Vassaantram Mehta & Co. Pvt.
Ltd., Venture Resource Holdings., Venture Real Estate, PEC Limited,
Karishma Exports, Karishma Goa Mineral Trading, Rajaram Bandekar (s)
Mines P. Ltd., Rajaram N.S. Bandekar & Co. P. Ltd., Narayan Bandekar &
Sons Pvt. Ltd., On & Offshore Hitech Engineers P. Ltd., Trimuthi
Exports, D.B. Bandodkar & Sons Pvt. Ltd., Shree Bhavani Minerals,
Minescape Minerals Pvt. Ltd., Prasanna V. Ghotge, Star PVG Exports,
Sri Krishna Enterprises, Gangadhar Narsingdas Agrawal, Fulchand
Exports, Baggadia Brothers, Shree Mallikarjun Shipping, Alphine
International, MSPL Limited, Ramakanta V. S. Velingkar, Ramakanta
Velingkar Minerals, Magnum Minerals Pvt. Ltd., Rika Global Impex Ltd.,
Muktar Pvt. Ltd., Canara Overseas Limited, Shantadurga Transport Co.
P. Ltd., and Adani Enterprises Limited. All these companies has
exported Goan Iron Ore to China without any exception. These are the
beneficiaries of the Goa’s dig and sell economy to which this trade is
the backbone of their economies fetching unimaginable financial
rewards without being in any affecting with global depression.

Sesa Goa limited – owned by British corporate Vedanta that is listed
on London stock exchange and funded by large number of banks and
shareholders world over - has topped the list of exporters with total
of 10,345,020 tonnes of export of Iron Ore. Out this 8,977,723 tonnes
exported to China, 631,186 tonnes exported to Japan, 212,378 tonnes to
South Korea, 265,704 to Europe, and 258,029 tonnes to Pakistan. The
company – V.S. Dempo & Company Pvt. Ltd – that Vedanta purchased in
June 2009 with all its mining interests in Goa exported total of
4,347,543 tonnes of iron ore to China (3,882,550 tonnes) and Japan
(464,993 tonnes). Vedanta’s target of exports for 2009-2010 is
whopping 50,000,000 tonnes from its mines in Goa alone. This is larger
than last year’s (2008-2009) combined total of all the mining
companies export from Goa of 38,075,223 tonnes of iron ore. For
Vedanta Goa is a Sunshine State! With this known target of one mining
company alone destruction of Goa’s ecology and People’s livelihood is
guaranteed.

Audoot Timblo who filed defamation suit of Rs.500 crore against the
author of this paper – Sebastian Rodrigues - at Calcutta High Court in
December 2008 citing that his writings at GAKUVED blog www.mandgoa.blogspot.com
has caused loss of business and existence of Fomento group is in
danger if his writings continues has three mining companies in his
kitty. The first one is Sociedade de Fomento Indl P. ltd that exported
2,348,970 tonnes to China (3,882,550 tonnes), Japan (453,005 tonnes)
and Europe (339,330 tonnes). The second one is Prime Mineral Exports
Pvt. Ltd. That exported 1,644,432 tonnes of Iron Ore to China. The
third one is Fomento (Karnataka) Mining Co. P. Ltd that sent 119,964
of Goan ore to China. This way there are 50 agencies that are engaged
in export of Goa’s Iron Ore. Their names are already cited above.

In order to sustain this exports tirade Goa’s hinterlands has been at
the brutal receiving ends. Its Forest and agriculture in large number
of villages where open cast mining activity is undertaken has been a
huge casualty thereby causing crisis of food security for humans and
animals alike. Goa’s ground water flow has been drastically changed
due to deep mining pits in number of locations thereby leaving village
wells, natural lakes, springs, ponds and rivulets dry. Water
dependency has developed in the Goa’s mining belt. Number of people
has become victims of dangerous Public Health Crisis in the Goa’s
mining belt that is yet to be thoroughly investigated. Large number of
people of Pissurlem and Keri – in Sattari are suffering from number
lung diseases including tuberculosis. While People in and around
Rivona in Sanguem suffer from Chicken Gunia almost in epidemic form
few months ago in September – October 2009.

Number of voices has cropped up recently highlighting that all is not
well with open cast mining industry in Goa and in fact it is rapidly
destroying not only the backbone of the local people’s economy i.e.
agriculture, but also causing irreversible ecological changes with
long term unforeseen consequences. Due to inherent rush of the China
boom and lure of foreign currency mining companies are in competition
with each other to transform Goa into a desert – all of them working
at breath neck speed. This is duly facilitated by mechanized nature of
the mining industry with latest sophisticated machinery waging a war
against nature and humanity in Goa. Communities has been lured into
alcoholism and cleverly fragmented into factions causing frequent
strife so that the will of the mining industry prevails.

In spite of all this however there are some village people in Goa
including its tribal people has demonstrated stiff and organized
resistance to this marauding open cast mining industry. At State level
Gawda, Kunbi, Velip and Dangar Federation (GAKUVED) has lend its voice
to the struggle against Goa’s mining plunder since 2007. Number of
other organizations such as Nature Environment Society and
Transformations (NEST), Goa Foundation, Ganv Ghor Rakhon Manch (GGRM)
and Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) has also collaborated with village people
resisting mining in various villages of Goa in various ways and
varying intensities. Goa Federation of Mines Affected People has
evolved as a network of mining affected people in Goa since August
2008.

II. Documenting Police Repression

The response of the State to these protests has been to deploy State
police – Goa Police – to carry on series of repressive measures
against those people involved in the active resistance against the
mining industry. Number of people arrested and criminally charged.
Police force is deployed to protect the mining industry and to
demoralize the resisting people in various manner. Below is a list of
Police interventions and strategic non-interventions to achieve this
objective. The below documentation is based on regular spot recorded
entries at www.mandgoa.blogspot.com – blog of Mand – An Adivasi-rights
Resource Centre, an Initiative of Gawda, Kunbi, Velip and Dhangar
Federation (GAKUVED) - after being reported by the villagers and
sometimes newspapers.

November 20, 2007
Colomba, Sanguem
A group of 8 Policemen came in plain clothes at 6 pm and began
threatening the villagers. They were searching Agnelo D'Souza, one of
the villagers in forefront of protest against mining threatening to
gobble up Colamb village. He had protested overwhelmingly during
November 18 2007 gram Sabha of the Rivona village panchayat and sought
resolution seeking to ban further mining activity in Colamb.

January 21, 2008
Colomba, Sanguem
Police Inspector Mhamel of Quepem Police station over the phone
threatened Rama Velip that if the villagers continue to march on the
Fomento mines then he will arrest all the villagers.

January 23, 2008
Colomba, Sanguem
Goa Police protection provided to Fomento mine in Colomba, Sanguem.

February 08, 2008
Colomba, Sanguem
ASI P.V. Desai attached to Quepem police station kicked one of the
Colomba villagers – Agnelo Dias. The police jeep which was following
the truck one of the police by name ASI P.V.Dessai got down from the
jeep caught hold the top portion of shirt of the youth shirt pulled
him and then assaulted him with shoes one his private parts and then
pulled him into the police jeep.

February 09, 2008
Colomba, Sanguem
40 Police personnel deputed to protect Fomento mine in Colamb.

February 11, 2008
Colomba, Sanguem

Police Protection to Fomento Mine
March 11, 2008
Colomba, Sanguem

Police protection to Fomento Mine.
March 25, 2008
Colomba, Sanguem

24 villagers including women arrested while blocking transportation of
Iron Ore from Fomento Mine. Police beat up villagers and snatched
earrings of one woman. 16 male constables and 6 lady constables
engaged to arrest 16 Women and 5 men. Women were picked up by male
constables – manhandled with some women complaining missing of their
gold ornaments on their bodies during the scuffle with the police on
the mining site.

April 12, 2008
Margao, Salcete
South Goa Collector Gokuldas Naik threatened Colomba villagers of
deploying police force to protect Fomentos to transport Ore from the
company’s Colomba mine. Collector issued this warning when a group of
Colomba villagers called on him at his Margao office.

April 22, 2008
Quepem Police Station, Quepem
Fomento Manager Atul Makode Manager of Hiralal and Khodidas mine
Colomba has on 22/4/2008 filed a false and distorted complaint before
the Quepem police against 18 villagers of Colomba villagers. The
complaint has been filed under section 143(punishment for forming an
unlawful assembly) , 147( punishment for rioting) , 447(Punishment for
criminal trespass) , 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint) , 506(2)
(punishment for criminal intimidation) , 425 (Mischief ) ,
427( Mischief) , read with section 149 (Liable for prosecution of
common object). All the sections applied are of Indian Penal Code,
1860 – another colonial law, this time by British applied upheld the
mining trade in Goa started during Portuguese colonial rule. There can
be no greater evidence that Goa is de facto living in Colonial regime
of State in India. The villagers have revolted not just against mining
by against Colonial system in operation benefiting few elites in Goa,
India and abroad. The 18 villagers against whom the complaint has been
filed includes 1.Premdas Velip, 2.Alcina Dias, 3. Agnelo D’Souza, 4.
Caetan Barreto, 5. Egyps D’Souza, 6. Tilu Dias, 7. Vincent Dias, 8.
Palmira Dias, 9. Dumena D’Souza,10. Bhagrati Velip, 11. Shanta Velip,
12. Kalawati Velip, 13. Chandrakant Gaonkar, 14. Vithabai Velip, 15.
Concy Antao, 16. Kalidas Naik, 17. Surya Gaonkar, 18.Gavnekar

May 21, 2008
Nuem, Khola, Canacona
Dempo Mine: contractor Gangesh Molu Dessai, landed at the site with
around 40 police personal from Cuncolim, Margao, Maina Curtorim and
Colva. IRB who were headed by Cuncolim P.I. Sidhant Shirodkar and
Colva P.I. Edwin Colaco. The Canacona Execuitive Magistrate Shri
Valvoikar made his presence over there. The police started clearing
the obstruction which was there on the way leading to the mine. The
police were stationed at the site till 4.00 pm face to face with
protesting people.

May 19, 2008
Advalpal, Bicholim
Criminal cases registered against 70 villagers at the behest of
Fomento mining company. Fomento mining company had filed police cases
against following 12 Advalpal villagers Shyamsunder Naik, Sharmila
Naik, Kishore Naik, Kashinath Gad, Vijay Pundloskar, Ganesh Naik, Babi
Gaonkar, Suresh Gad, Shrikant Gaonkar, Manguesh Gad, Amar Shetye and
Pradip Gaonkar. The cases were registered under following sections of
the Indian Penal Code (IPC): 143, 144, 147, 148, 323, 427, 341, 506
and 149.

Out of these 4 people were arrested namely, Shyamsunder Naik, Sharmila
Naik, Kishore Naik and Kashinath Gad. Fomentos are operating Litho
Ferro mining lease in Advalpal

May 20, 2008
Advalpal, Bicholim
Police Protection provided to Fomento mine.

May 21, 2008
Advalpal, Bicholim
Sheetal Thanekar, Surekha Santosh Gaonkar and 17 year old Sandesh
Vithal Gaonkar was beaten by Sesa Goa goons at around 3.00 pm. Police
case registered. Police are yet to make any arrests so far.

June 04, 2008
Porvorim, Bardez
Advalpal villagers stopped on their way to Panjim to celebrate World
Environment Day and demonstration in front of Sesa Ghor. Their bus
taken away to Panjim Police station from Porvorim under the pretext
that Police had a secret information that the protestors are going to
block the Mandovi bridge and paralyze the traffic! Police force in
riot gears were deployed to guard the protestors after they got off
the bus in Porvorim. This police followed the protestors to Panjim
when they got back their bus and staged demonstration in from of Sesa
Ghor – the headquarters of Sesa Goa mining company owned by British
Corporate - Vedanta.

June 05, 2008
Colomba, Sanguem
Heavy police security in police arrangement as villagers celebrated
World Environment Day

June 19, 2008
Goa Legislative Assembly, Porvorim

Leader of the opposition Manohar Parrikar at ad-hoc committee named
the author of this paper – Sebastian Rodrigues – as naxalite operating
with his team from Jharkhand in Colomba, Quepem. Top officer of Goa
Police present at the meeting agreed with Mr. Parrikar’s assertion.
Goa Police however came out with official statement denying presence
of Naxalites in the State of Goa.

June 24, 2008
Quepem Police Sation, Quepem

Quepem Police Inspector Santosh S. Dessai took a written statement
from Colomba’s Rama Velip on naxalite issue. Extracts: “…I say that I
know one Sebastiao Rodrigues r/o Siolim Mapusa since last 05 years
from the year 2003. The said Sebastiao Rodrigues use to visit our home
at Colomba alongwith br. Philip of Don Bosco, Sulcorna and Venkatesh
Prabhudessai of Colomba – Kevona. The said Sebastiao use to move along
with brother Philip Neri D’Souza.

I say that whenever there was a meeting in our village regarding
mining issue and other environmental or land issue he use to visit our
village. Most of the time said Venkatesh Prabhudessai and also Br.
Philip use to attend the said meeting of “GAKUVED” and use to take
photographs and was doing videography also. Mostly he use to do work
on the internet…”

October 11, 2008
Maina, Quepem
Eight protestors were beaten up by goons of the mining industry in the
presence of police personnel headed by PI Santos S. Dessai and
protestors arrested and sent to jail. 85 year old Dora de Souza too
was arrested while she with a group of protestors chained herself on
the road carrying iron ore away from the mine. She along with other 3
women were sent to Aguada Jail. Zilla Parishad member Subhas
Phaldessai led the attack on protestors at Dinar Tarcar Mine. PI
Santos Desai remained passive observer during this time. Priest
Mathias D’Cunha sdb, Filmmaker Kurush Canteenwalah and Sebastian
Rodrigues too was beaten up and taken into police custody. Quepem
Police team led by PI Santos S. Dessai remained mere spectator as the
mining goons were beating up the protestors

October 15, 2008
Maina, Quepem.
Police protection to Fomento mine T.C. 06/1949.

November 13, 2008
Colomba, Sanguem
Police night patrolling in the village with three police Jeeps began.
Police night patrolling continued for three weeks.

November 12, 2008
Colomba, Sanguem
86 protestors on Fomento mine T.C.No. 06/1946 were arrested and later
released on bail. Fr. Mathias D’Cunha sdb from Sulcorna was abused and
by some unruly elements defending Fomentos. He has lodged police
complaint. Police took no action. PI Santos S. Dessai was present on
the site. At the police station placards of Colomba villagers were
confiscated and torn apart under the oral instructions from PI Santos
S. Dessai. Police also destroyed people’s food while effecting
arrests. Goa Armed Police van and two jeeps full of Police personnel
were put in action in defense of the Fomentos. One lady constable
bearing badge number 6769 assaulted Colamb female protestor Dument
D’Souza just before the arrests in the afternoon in presence of
mamlatdar. Similarly Fomento security staff and truck drivers beat up
two protestors Shamsunder Naik, Durgadas Gaonkar and Gajanand Raikar
causing minor injuries to them. Former editor of Goamtak times Sujoy
Gupta who joined Fomento mining company as its vice president directed
the security staff to identify the targets for violence from the
mining company’s office on Hiralal Khodidas mine at Colomba on this
day.

November 17, 2008
Quepem Police Station, Quepem, Goa
7 villagers from Colomba, Sanguem protesting against mining invasion
of their village were arrested in fabricated criminal case filed by
Fomento mining company supporter Surya Naik. PI Santos S. Dessai began
arrests by taking Egyps D’Souza into Police custody while he was
moving around in Tilamol market. 8 arrested were later released on
bail. The villagers are Motesh Antao, Egyps D'Souza, Dument D'Souza,
Shanto Velip, Rama Velip, Telu Dias and Xavier Fernandes. They were
punished with day long forced stay at Quepem Police station on the
next day - November 18, 2008.

Novemeber 19, 2008
Quepem Police Station, Quepem, Goa
Warning of Tadi Par – Exile by Police – informally sent to Egyps
D’Souza by PI Santos S. Dessai. Egyps would be debarred from entering
South Goa jurisdiction, including his home in Quepem taluka once Tadi
Par in invoked on him.

November 22, 2008
Colomba, Sanguem
Police team visited village with intention to arrest young Tedoz Antao
based on the complaint filed against him by Fomento security
personnel.

November 27, 2008
Ambaulim, Quepem
Police in riot gear clashed on streets when Ambaulim villagers who
blocked Iron Ore transport of Dinar Tarcar and Fomentos due to over
loading and dust pollution.

November 29, 2008
Colomba, Sanguem
Police Protection provided to Fomento Manager en route to Quepem
Police Station to file complaint against villagers after they forced
stopped the mining transportation.

December 01, 2008
Colomba, Sanguem
Police protection provided to Fomentos to transport Iron Ore at
Hiralal Khodidas mine

(T.C. No. 06/1949).
December 04, 2008
Quepem Police Station, Quepem
Colomba villagers warned of Tadi Par. Served 4 days deadline by PI
Santosh Desai to end agitation against Fomento mining company and
accept sustainable mining. According to PI Santos S. Dessai if Colomba
villagers don’t listen then their agitation will be crushed with heavy
police force. Entire Police force from Goa will be mobilized to
unleash terror on Colamb villagers. Rama Velip, Salvador Dias, Telu
Dias, Xavier Fernandes, Purso Gaoncar, Arjun Velip, Chandrakant
Gaonkar and Surya Gaonkar witnessed PI Santosh Dessai telling them all
this in presence of two Fomento mining company officials.

December 13, 2008
Sanvordem, Sanguem

Stranger male moving around with photograph of youth from Colamb –
Tedoz Antao – approached Milagrine Antao and Dument D’souza while on
marketing visit to Sanvordem town. He told them that Quepem PI Santos
S. Dessai has commissioned him to catch the person on photograph and
hand over to him at Quepem Police Station. According to him this youth
protesting mining company’s onslaught on his village is involved in
Dacoities. Such a insidious defamatory propaganda! This questioning of
Colamb women in Sanvordem market by stranger on behalf of Quepem
Police was one more instance of desperate attempts by Goa Police-
Fomento nexus to spread terror and fear amongst common people
resisting mining industry by outsourcing its functions to private
agents.

December 17, 2008
Ambaulim, Quepem

Police violence – lathi charge – on peaceful demonstrators against
mining trucks creating air pollution and traffic hazards as all the
written petitions were not respected and acted upon by Digambar Kamat
government.. 7 villagers arrested (William Luis, Satulin Luis, Fatima
Fernandes, Franky Rebello, Glen Rebello, Diego Fernandes besides Anton
Jose Fernandes who was arrested from his home after the lathi charge.)
Police assault on lawyer John Fernandes and attempt to murder criminal
case under section 307 of Indian Penal Code filed against Advocate
Fernandes. Police Inspector Santosh S. Dessai alleged in local marathi
daily - Tarun Bharat issue of December 18, 2008 that Adv. John
attempted to murder policemen - ASI Arvind Nagekar - while lathi
charging the protestors against transportation of Iron Ore from the
road in their village causing enormous dust pollution and traffic
congestions. Wife of Advocate John Fernandes, Paulina Fernandes too
was criminally charged on this day for rioting and unlawful assembly.
Seven school children beaten by police violence, Franky Rebello was
hit on head by Police. Amongst other injured includes smt. Lourencina
Rebello (65), Andrew Fernandes, William Fernandes, John Fernandes,
Smt. Remij Fernandes (50) Francisco Fernandes, Monica Fernandes, Pobre
Fernandes and Soccor Fernandes. Quepem PI Santos S. Dessai and Deputy
collector Venancio Furtado denied lathi charge though it took place in
their presence; in fact administered by both of them – in reply under
RTI. This proved that Deputy collector present did not order the lathi
charge. South Goa Collector Gokuldas Naik justified it in interview to
Times of India of December 19, 2008 and Goa Police authority headed by
Justice Eurico Silva defended this lathi charge in his judgment. The
legality of this lathi charge is clearly a suspect.

January 06, 2009
Colamb, Sanguem

Police protection provided to Fomento mine in Colamb. It continued on
January 07, 2009.

January 15, 2009
Ambaulim, Quepem

Police launched search operation for two days – January 14 to January
15, 2009 to arrest Pobre Fernandes, an active person in resistance to
mining industry.

January 20, 2009
Cavrem, Quepem

Five tribal youth resisting mining company were arrested by Police at
Quepem Police Station. Their names are Satyendra Gaonkar, Ashish
Gaonkar, Sandesh Gaonkar, Ramesh Gaonkar, and Deepak Gaonkar. They
were arrested after mines manager Kulkarni at Nevgi mine - operated by
Dinar Tarcar - filed complaint against them on January 18, 2009.

33. February 01, 2009

Ambaulim, Quepem

Villager Franky Rebello’s house was visited by Quepem Police Constable
Mohan Dessai in the night and Franky’s wife and aged parents were
threatened with rendering Franky unemployed. Franky was not at home.
Mohan Desai was drunk when on his visit.

34. February 03, 2009

Colomba, Sanguem

Goa Police attached to Quepem Police station served the notice to
Tedoz Antao to

surrender before Quepem Police station within 17 hours in response to
criminal

case filed against him by Fomentos.

35. February 13, 2009

Colamb, Sanguem

Police visited the residence of Motes Antao, youth resisting mining
invasion of his

village of Colomba in Sanguem at 1.33 pm with intention to scare him
away.

36. March 20, 2009

Colamb, Sanguem

Motes Antao was whisked away by Police at 10.00 am from his truck in
Quepem and arrested over the charge of assault on Government Servant
based on the complaint filed by one Ganesh Velip on 29/1/2009 over the
incident taken place on 9/1/2009 the Quepem police booked Motes under
section 353,504 and 506 r/w. 34 of IPC for giving abusive words to a
court bailiff. Motes is one of the active voices of mining terrorism
in Goa and has been frequently targeted by the mining industry. This
time he was slapped on his face three times by policemen at Quepem
police station. First time he was slapped by a policeman in plain
clothes at Quepem Police Station and second and third time he was
slapped on face while being taken for medical examination at
government health centre in Curchorem. PI Devendra Gad was heading the
Police Station this time. In the bail application moved by said Motes
claimed that on the day of the alleged incident he was not yet all
present at the residence. He claimed that he has been falsely booked
at the instance of Fomento Mining Company whose summons the Court
bailiff had gone to serve to the villagers of Colomba. Goa Police
Complaint Authority headed by Justice Eurico Silva ruled in favour of
police this time too. Earlier it had done the same in case of Lathi
charge on villagers of Ambaulim, Quepem.

March 20, 2009
Colamb, Sanguem

On this same day brother of Motes Antao, Tedoz Antao too was arrested
– picked up by police while he was waiting for public transport bus at
Tilamol junction. He was criminally charged for restraining one
Yeshwant Salunke, security guard of Hiralal Khodidas mine (operated by
Fomentos in Colamb) on 13/9/2008 and was booked under section 341,
323, 427, 506(ii) r/w. 34 of IPC.

March 24-25, 2009
Cawrem, Quepem

There was alteration on March 24, 2009 in Cawrem village between two
anti - mining activists Alcine Dias and Egyps D'Souza on the one hand
and Rivona Panchayat member of Panchayat Ram Gaoncar who once upon a
time in 2003 was opponent mining operated by Radha Timblo belonging to
Badruddin Mavany mining lease but then surrendered himself and his
land to Timblos pressure tactics.

When the two men Alcine and Egyps went to the Police station to
register the complaint against Ram Gaoncar, Timblo mining company
Manager and another contractor of the Fomento mining company in Colamb
swung into action and pressurized the police to register the case
against Egyps D'Souza. A case was registered for assault and breach of
Public Peace against Egyps. Egyps was detained at the police station
for the full one night.

39. March 25, 2009

Quepem Police Station, Quepem

Rama Velip on visit to meet arrested Egyps D’souza at the Quepem
Police Station on March 25, 2009 afternoon he was arrested and forced
to accept bail and move out of the police station in one old case
pertaining to blockade of the mining transport near Fomento mine in
Colomba.

40. April 01, 2009

Colomba, Sanguem

Motesh Antao threatened by Quepem Police Inspector Devendra Gad of
booking under National Security Act (NSA) to continue harassment in
furtherance of numerous false cases filed by Fomento mining company
against him. PI Devendra Gad promised to use his police powers to
harass Motesh Antao to the last. Motesh was called to the police
station by serving call letter when he was awarded with this warning.

41. May 10, 2009

Sirgao, Bicholim

Suresh Babani Gaonkar and Dhruvanjay V. Harmalkar were arrested by
Bicholim Police Sub Inspector Terence Vaz and head constable Pradeep
Kubal for protesting against Chowgule mining company plying its mining
trucks through their property. They were picked by from Sirgao village
in North Goa at around 11.30 am without serving any call letters. The
arrests came 4 days after the famous Sirgao Zatra festival – in which
Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat participated – in the village with
scarce water due the giant mining companies sucking their water
sources dry.

Once taken into police custody they were put into police lock up. They
were not served any meals and were starved till they were bailed out
at around 5 pm on the same day.

42. May 20, 2009

Advalpal, Bicholim

Two villagers from Advalpal, Bicholim – Shamsunder Naik and Vijay
Pandluskar are arrested at Bicholim Police Station for protesting
against Sesa Goa mines on May 10, 2009 under section 151 of Indian
Penal Code – Disturbance of Public Peace! They were released from
Bicholim Police Lock up at night at 9.00 pm.

43. July 18, 2009

Colomba, Sanguem

For two weeks Rama Velip of Colamb village in Sanguem Taluka was
harassed by Goa's Secret Police - CID (Criminal Intelligence
Department). Secret police has been visiting the house of Rama Velip
and seeking to know about future plans of anti-mining movement. There
are phone calls made at Rama Velip's residence at very odd hours in
the night and asking him to report to Quepem Police Station.

Rama Velip is heading Gawda, Kunbi, Velip and Dhangar Fedearation
(GAKUVED) unit under the jurisdiction of Rivona Panchayat and in the
middle of resistance movement against mining in Sanguem and Quepem
Talukas of South Goa.

CID officer who is involved in harassing Rama Velip is one Premanand
Phaldessai attached to Quepem Police Station. He hails from Sanvordem
and according to the sources his family members are involved in
business of transportation of Iron Ore through ownership of trucks.
Harassment stopped only after the officer was reported on internet.

44. September 25, 2009

Colomba, Sanguem

Colamb villager Motes Antao arrested at Quepem Police Station in the
morning at 9.15 am. He was called to the police station to collect
information he had sought involving detailed information of three
police officials – PI Santos S. Dessai, PSI Prakash Desai and HC
Arvind Nagekar- under Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI). Motes was
threatened at the police station for filing application under RTI on
August 14, 2009. Motes Antao was arrested on complaint of November 28,
2008 filed by one Shri C.S.Patil Asst. Personal Manager of Hiralal
Khodidas Mine – operated by Fomento mining company in Motes’ village
of Colomba in Sanguem under sections 143, 341 and 506 read with 149 of
Indian Penal Code (IPC). What is tragic in this whole episode still
unfolding is that the citizen is called at the police station to
collect information sought under RTI and then threatened and arrest
effected on previous cases.

45. October 12, 2009

Usgao, Ponda

157 people protesting against Sesa Goa mines in Condli arrested and
released on bond. They had blocked transportation of ore for one week
prior to their arrests.

In addition to this there are also incidents of Telephone tapping of
the people resisting mining industry in Goa. It is not sure however as
to who was doing tapping of the phones. On October 10, 2008 telephone
calls from the mobile phone belonging to Sebastian Rodrigues made to
the landline phone of Rama Velip in were being tapped. Someone, a male
adult voice speaking Hindi received call made to Rama Velip. Similarly
when Rama Velip called Sebastian Rodrigues from his landline a male
adult voice speaking in Hindi received the call.

On Second occasion on Sunday, August 02, 2009 someone call came in on
landline of Sebastian Rodrigues in Siolim saying that the person is
calling from telephone exchange and trying to find out if the landline
is working alright. Telephone exchange does not attend to telephone
repair work on Sunday nor anyone had lodged any complaint pertaining
to defect in telephone functioning.

III. Ramifications

The existence of Police State is evident from the above documentation.
The democracy and its spaces are shrinking with Police Raj manifesting
itself in an unprecedented manner. The tribal people and other
silenced voices have been turning to voice out their grievances. They
are however offered hostile reception with Police terror. The modus
operandi of the State-Mining companies’ nexus in Goa is to file as
many police cases as possible on those protesting mining industry and
then convert these cases into arrests, and arrests into Court cases.
There are several Court cases ongoing across the State of Goa –
particularly against the people in Colomba, in Sanguem, Maina in
Quepem and Advalpal in Bicholim. The insidious logic being, that
Police cases and Court cases will demoralize the ongoing movement
against mining industry in Goa.

People of Goa particularly its hitherto silent majority has began to
speak out. It has began to expressed its dissent. This dissent is
found to be intolerable by the mining elites dominated State of Goa.
The response has been to inflict repression with Goa Police as its
favored agency.

Situation has come to head on in this manner as the Indian State has
developed intolerance to the democratic spaces especially when they
are used by conscious poor radical people to express dissent. To agree
to the voices from below would amount to the violation of pacts
amongst the elites that have decided things even before the conduct of
the necessary democratic consultations. There are up teem number of
examples in Goa wherein People opposed mining projects under the
mandatory Public Hearings taken place with overwhelming opposition
from the those present. In some cases the opposition has been 100%.
Yet all the mining companies has been awarded with environment
clearance by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF). In
this way Goa has been turned into colony of India for the purpose of
mineral exploitation. Ruling elites in Goa have decided to join the
party to the detriment of toiling people of Goa. That’s why Goa’s
elites silently collaborating with mining companies. They have no
vision other than making some quick riches at the cost of Goa’s
ecology and People’s livelihood and Water.

IV. Need for change in Goa Police mindset

Goa Police must undergo fundamental change in the outlook from being
defenders of Goa’s mining industry - that is waging war with People of
Goa – to being defenders of the People of Goa waging struggle against
Goa’s mining plunder. There must be awareness programs conducted for
every police officer on how mining industry is destroying Goa and why
Goa Police must join the toiling farmers and residents hand – in hand
in this; do or die struggle. Behaving as agency of repression on
behalf of the mining industry – as has been the case during 2007-2009
- will only lead to demoralization of Police force as public attention
and media sensitivity is very acute. Goa Police must refuse to arrest
and administer violence on people; instead it must play helpful role
towards movement against Goa’s mining industry in the interest of the
Goa’s generations yet to be born by acting swiftly on complaints
against mining companies. This would mean defending ‘Public’ interest
in genuine sense and not the ‘Private’ interest of handful of mining
companies engaged in ruining Goa forever. Goa police must join the
ranks of people protesting mining industry incursions. People’s revolt
against mining industry is essentially a revolt against Indian
Colonialism that is manifesting itself in mining belt in collusion
with Global exploitative forces. Time is ripe now for Goa Police to
bring about historic turn around in their hitherto role as front
defense of plunder of Goa through mining.

Note: This paper is prepared to be presented at the State level
Seminar on “Human Rights and Environment – A Focus on Goa” at the
Department of Political Science, St. Xavier’s College, Mapusa, Goa on
International Human Rights Day December 10, 2009.

www.mandgoa.blogspot.com

Goan Mineral Ore Exports: Selected Statistics (Amended upto March 31,
2009), Goa Mineral Ore Exporters’ Association, Panaji. 2009.

Posted by MAND at 12/10/2009 01:47:00 PM 0 comments Links to this
post
Labels: Advalpal, Colamb, GAKUVED, Maina, MAND, Mining, police,
Quepem, Sanguem, Sirgao

http://mandgoa.blogspot.com/search/label/Advalpal

Posted by MAND at 9/18/2009 04:03:00 PM 0 comments Links to this
post
Labels: agriculture, Bandekars, Bicholim, Chowgules, Dempos, Mining,
Sirgao, Vedanta

Pictures of June 6, 2009 floods from mining sites in Goa

Sateri Temple in Valshi, Bicholim: water from nearby Vedanta (Dempo)
mines at Bordem, Bicholim overflowing up to the temple plinth.

Below picture shows mining silt enters into compound wall of People
residing near Vedanta (Dempos) mines in Mulgao, Bicholim.

Picture below shows mining rejection from Vedanta (Sesa Goa) mine lays
scattered around in Advalpal village in Bicholim Taluka.

Picture below shows mining silt on the floor inside the village temple
in Valshi, Bicholim. This silt is from Vedanta (Dempo mine at Bordem,
Bicholim)

Mining silt entered entered inside the People's houses in Poira,
Bicholim. This Silt is from Chowgule mining company.

Compound walls, drainage disrupted during last floods in mining belt
of Goa. This picture is from Advalpal where in Sesa Goa, Salgaoncars,
Fomentos, Lithoferro mining companies are in operation.

(Pictures by Vishant Vaze)

Posted by MAND at 9/18/2009 02:47:00 PM 0 comments Links to this
post
Labels: Advalpal, Bicholim, Bordem, Chowgules, Dempos, Floods,
fomentos, Mining, Mulgao, Sesa Goa, Vedanta

http://www.nanavonmilita.wordpress.com/

hari....@indero.com

unread,

Apr 10, 2010, 10:15:59 AM4/10/10

Here is the central core set of facts that stand above all others and
are the only relevant truth and consideration. Thousands of totally
innocent humans were murdered, raped, babies ripped from bellies, and
property destroyed.

That is the true story. Any revisionist history in attempting to wiggle
away from this core truth only adds more to an already evil crime by
attempting to excuse that evil by adding more evil. More evil is added
when pointing to media as the source when that is in fact irrelevant.
The central core of facts are known as to the evil done to the thousands
of innocents.

navanavonmilita

unread,

Apr 10, 2010, 12:18:30 PM4/10/10

Not Required Indian, NRI: Sid Harth

Romani people

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Romani. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani
Romani people
Rromane dźene
Romani flag proposed by the 1971 World Romani Congress

(left to right):

Grigoraş Dinicu, Drafi Deutscher, Charles Chaplin, Isabel Pantoja,
Ricardo Quaresma, Ceija Stojka, Džej Ramadanovski, Irini Merkouri

Total population

Up to 5 million in the world[1]
or
6-11 million in the world[2]

See Romani people by country for the entire list of countries and
other estimations.
The following list uses official data, the unofficial estmation might
differ substantially.

Regions with significant populations

Spain 650,000
(1.62%) [3]
Romania 535,140
(2.46%) [4]
Turkey 500,000
(0.72%) [5]
France 500,000
(0.79%) [6]
Bulgaria 370,908
(4.67%) [7]
Hungary 205,720
(2.02%) [8]
Greece 200,000
(1.82%) [9]
Russia 182,766
(0.13%) [10]
Italy 130,000
(0.22%) [11]
Serbia 108,193
(1.44%) [12]
Slovakia 89,920
(1.71%) [13]
Germany 70,000
(0.09%) [14]
R. Macedonia 53,879
(2.85%) [15]

Languages

Romani, languages of native region

Religion

Christianity
(Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism),
Islam,
Shaktism[16]

Related ethnic groups

Dom people, Lom people, other Indo-Aryans

The Romani (also Romany, Romanies, Romanis, Roma or Roms; exonym:
Gypsies; Romani: Romane or Rromane, depending on the dialect) are an
ethnic group living mostly in Europe, who trace their origins to
medieval India.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_kingdoms_of_India

The Romani are widely dispersed with their largest concentrated
populations in Europe, especially the Roma of Central and Eastern
Europe and Anatolia, followed by the Iberian Kale in Southwestern
Europe and Southern France, with more recent diaspora populations in
the Americas and, to a lesser extent, in other parts of the world.

Their Romani language is divided into several dialects, which add up
to an estimated number of speakers larger than two million.[17] The
total number of Romani people is at least twice as large (several
times as large according to high estimates), and many Romani are
native speakers of the language current in their country of residence,
or of mixed languages combining the two.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_language

Terminology

Main article: Names of the Romani people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_Romani_people

Distribution of the Romanies in Europe based on self-designation.Rom,
Romani
Romani usage

In the Romani language, rom is a masculine noun, meaning "man,
husband", with the plural roma. Romani is the feminine adjective,
while romano is the masculine adjective. Some Romanies use Rom / Roma
as an ethnic name, while others (such as the Sinti, or the Romanichal)
do not use this term as a self-ascription for the entire ethnic group.
[18]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinti

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanichal

Sometimes, rom and romani are spelled with a double r, i.e., rrom and
rromani. In this case rr is used to represent the phoneme /ʀ/ (also
written as ř and rh), which in some Romani dialects has remained
different from the one written with a single r. The rr spelling is
common particularly in Romania, in order to distinguish from the
endonym for Romanians (sg. român, pl. români).[19]

English usage

In the English language (according to OED), Rom is a noun (with the
plural Roma or Roms) and an adjective, while Romani (Romany) is also a
noun (with the plural Romanies or Romanis) and an adjective. Both Rom
and Romani have been in use in English since the 19th century as an
alternative for Gypsy. Romani was initially spelled Rommany, then
Romany, while today the Romani spelling is the most popular spelling.
Occasionally, the double r spelling (e.g., Rroma, Rromani) mentioned
above is also encountered in English texts.

Although Roma is used as a designation for the branch of the Romani
people with historic concentrations in Eastern Europe and the Balkans,
it is increasingly encountered during recent decades[20][21] as a
generic term for the Romani people as a whole.[22]

Because all Romanies use the word Romani as an adjective, the term
began to be used as a noun for the entire ethnic group.[23]

Today, the term Romani is used by most organizations—including the
United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the US Library of Congress.
[19]

The standard assumption is that the demonyms of the Romani people, Lom
and Dom share the same origin.[24][25]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lom_people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_people

Gypsy

Further information: Gypsy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsy

The English term Gypsy (or Gipsy) originates from the Greek word
Αιγύπτοι (Aigyptoi, whence modern Greek γύφτοι gifti), in the
erroneous belief that the Romanies originated in Egypt, and were
exiled as punishment for allegedly harboring the infant Jesus.[26]
This exonym is sometimes written with capital letter, to show that it
designates an ethnic group.[27]

As described in Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the
medieval French referred to the Romanies as egyptiens. The term has
come to bear pejorative connotations. The word "Gypsy" in English has
become so pervasive that many Romani organizations use it in their own
organizational names.

In North America, the word "Gypsy" is commonly used as a reference to
lifestyle[citation needed] or fashion, and not to the Romani
ethnicity. The Spanish term gitano and the French term gitan may have
the same origin[clarification needed].[28]

Population and subgroups

Main article: Romani populations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_populations

Distribution of the Romani people in Europe (2007 Council of Europe
"average estimates", totalling 9.8 million)[29]

* The size of the wheel symbols reflects absolute population size
* The gradient reflects the percent in the country's population:
0% 10%.Many Romanies for a variety of
reasons choose not to register their ethnic identity in official
censuses. There are an estimated four million Romani people in Europe
and Asia Minor (as of 2002),[30] although some high estimates by
Romani organizations give numbers as high as 14 million.[31]
Significant Romani populations are found in the Balkan peninsula, in
some Central European states, in Spain, France, Russia, and Ukraine.
Several more million Romanies may live out of Europe, in particular in
the Middle East and in the Americas.

The Romani people recognize divisions among themselves based in part
on territorial, cultural and dialectal differences and self-
designation. The main branches are:[32][33][34][35]

Roma, crystallized in Eastern Europe and Central Italy, emigrated also
(mostly from the 19th century onwards), in the rest of Europe, but
also on the other continents;
Iberian Kale, mostly in Spain (see Romani people in Spain), but also
in Portugal, Southern France and Latin America;
Finnish Kale, in Finland, emigrated also in Sweden;
Welsh Kale, in Wales;
Romanichal, in the United Kingdom, emigrated also to the United States
and Australia;
Sinti, in German-speaking areas of Central Europe and some neighboring
countries;
Manush, in French-speaking areas of Central Europe;
Romanisæl, in Sweden and Norway.

Among Romanies there are further internal differentiations, like
Bashaldé; Churari; Luri; Ungaritza; Lovari (Lovara) from Hungary;
Machvaya (Machavaya, Machwaya, or Macwaia) from Serbia; Romungro
(Modyar or Modgar) from Hungary and neighbouring carpathian countries;
Erlides (also Yerlii or Arli); Xoraxai (Horahane) from Greece/Turkey;
Boyash (Lingurari, Ludar, Ludari, Rudari, or Zlătari) from Romanian
words for various crafts: (Lingurari - spoon makers, Rudari - wood
crafters; Zlătari - goldsmiths); Ursari from Romanian/Moldovan bear-
trainers; Argintari from silversmiths; Aurari from goldsmiths; Florari
from florists; and Lăutari from musicians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luri

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovari_(Roma)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlax_Romani

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machvaya

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romungro

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xoraxai

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyash

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursari

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silversmith

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldsmith

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florist

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C4%83utari

History

Main article: History of the Romani people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Romani_people

This section requires expansion.

Origins

Main article: Origin of the Romani people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_Romani_people#Origin

Linguistic and genetic evidence indicates the Romanies originated from
the Indian subcontinent, emigrating from India towards the northwest
no earlier than the 11th century. The Romani are generally believed to
have originated in central India, possibly in the modern Indian state
of Rajasthan, migrating to northwest India (the Punjab region) around
250 B.C. In the centuries spent here, there may have been close
interaction with such established groups as the Rajputs and the Jats.
Their subsequent westward migration, possibly in waves, is believed to
have occurred between 500 A.D. and 1000 A.D. Contemporary populations
sometimes suggested as sharing a close relationship to the Romani are
the Dom people of Central Asia and the Banjara of India.[36]

The emigration from India likely took place in the context of the
raids by Mahmud of Ghazni[37] As these soldiers were defeated, they
were moved west with their families into the Byzantine Empire. The
11th century terminus post quem is due to the Romani language showing
unambiguous features of the Modern Indo-Aryan languages,[38]
precluding an emigration during the Middle Indic period.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajasthan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjab_region

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajputs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Asia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjara

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmud_of_Ghazni

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Indo-Aryan#Modern_dialect_continuum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Indic

Genetic evidence supports the medieval migration from India. The
Romanies have been described as "a conglomerate of genetically
isolated founder populations",[39] while a number of common Mendelian
disorders among Romanies from all over Europe indicates "a common
origin and founder effect".[39][40] A study from 2001 by Gresham et
al. suggests "a limited number of related founders, compatible with a
small group of migrants splitting from a distinct caste or tribal
group".[41] The same study found that "a single lineage ... found
across Romani populations, accounts for almost one-third of Romani
males."[41] A 2004 study by Morar et al. concluded that the Romani
population "was founded approximately 32–40 generations ago, with
secondary and tertiary founder events occurring approximately 16–25
generations ago".[42]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mendelian_traits_in_humans

Possible connection with the Jat people

While the South Asian origin of the Romani people has been long
considered a certitude, the exact South Asian group from whom the
Romanies have descended has been a matter of debate. The recent
discovery of the "Jat mutation" that causes a type of glaucoma in
Romani populations suggests that the Romani people are the descendants
of the Jat people found in Northern India and Pakistan.[43]

This contradicted an earlier study that compared the most common
haplotypes found in Romani groups with those found in Jatt Sikhs and
Jats from Haryana and found no matches.[44] The haplogroup H, which is
the most common haplogroup in Romanis is far more prevalent in central
India and south India than it is in northern India, where haplogroup
R1a lineages makes up at least half of male ancestries, and haplogroup
H is rare.

Appearance in Europe

The migration of the Romanies through the Middle East and Northern
Africa to Europe
First arrival of the Romanies outside Berne in the 15th century,
described by the chronicler as getoufte heiden ("baptized heathens")
and drawn with dark skin and wearing Saracen-style clothing and
weapons (Spiezer Schilling, p. 749).
An 1852 Wallachian poster advertising an auction of Romani slaves in
Bucharest.In 1322 CE a Franciscan monk named Symon Semeonis described
people resembling these "atsinganoi" living in Crete and in 1350 CE
Ludolphus of Sudheim mentioned a similar people with a unique language
whom he called Mandapolos, a word which some theorize was possibly
derived from the Greek word mantes (meaning prophet or fortune teller).
[45]

Around 1360, an independent Romani fiefdom (called the Feudum
Acinganorum) was established in Corfu and became "a settled community
and an important and established part of the economy."[46]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symon_Semeonis

By the 14th century, the Romanies had reached the Balkans; by 1424 CE,
Germany; and by the 16th century, Scotland and Sweden. Some Romanies
migrated from Persia through North Africa, reaching the Iberian
Peninsula in the 15th century. The two currents met in France.
Romanies began immigrating to the United States in colonial times,
with small groups in Virginia and French Louisiana. Larger-scale
immigration began in the 1860s, with groups of Romnaichal from
Britain. The largest number immigrated in the early 1900s, mainly from
the Vlax group of Kalderash. Many Romanies also settled in South
America.

When the Romani people arrived in Europe, curiosity was soon followed
by hostility and xenophobia. Romanies were enslaved for five centuries
in Wallachia and Moldavia until abolition in 1856.[47] Elsewhere in
Europe, they were subject to ethnic cleansing, abduction of their
children, and forced labor. In England, there were hangings and
expulsions of the Romani; in France, branding and the shaving of
heads; in Moravia and Bohemia severing of ears of women. As a result,
large groups of the Romani travelled back East, towards Poland, which
was more tolerant, and Russia, where the Romani were also treated less
heavy-handedly, as long as they paid the annual taxes.[48]

Sinti and Roma about to be deported in Germany, May 22, 1940World War
II

Main article: Porajmos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porajmos

During World War II, the Nazis embarked on systematic attempt at
genocide of the Romanies, known as the Porajmos.[49] They were marked
for extermination and sentenced to forced labor and imprisonment in
concentration camps. They were often killed on sight, especially by
the Einsatzgruppen (essentially mobile killing units) on the Eastern
Front. The total number of victims has been variously estimated at
between 220,000 to 1,500,000; even the lowest number would count as
one of the largest mass murders in history.

Post-1945

In Communist Eastern Europe, Romanies experienced assimilation schemes
and restrictions of cultural freedom.[citation needed] The Romani
language and Romani music were banned from public performance in
Bulgaria.[dubious – discuss] In Czechoslovakia, they were labeled a
"socially degraded stratum,"[citation needed] and Romani women were
sterilized as part of a state policy to reduce their population. This
policy was implemented with large financial incentives, threats of
denying future welfare payments, with misinformation, or after
administering drugs (Silverman 1995; Helsinki Watch 1991). An official
inquiry from the Czech Republic, resulting in a report (December
2005), concluded that the Communist authorities had practiced an
assimilation policy towards Romanies, which "included efforts by
social services to control the birth rate in the Romani community" and
that "the problem of sexual sterilization carried out in the Czech
Republic, either with improper motivation or illegally, exists"[50]
with new revealed cases up until 2004, in both the Czech Republic and
Slovakia.[51]

Society and culture

Main article: Romani society and culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_society_and_culture

A Gipsy Family - Facsimile of a woodcut in the "Cosmographie
Universelle" of Munster: in folio, Basle, 1552.The traditional
Romanies place a high value on the extended family. Virginity is
essential in unmarried women. Both men and women often marry young;
there has been controversy in several countries over the Romani
practice of child marriage. Romani law establishes that the man's
family must pay a bride price to the bride's parents, but only
traditional families still follow this rule.

Once married, the woman joins the husband's family, where her main job
is to tend to her husband's and her children's needs, as well as to
take care of her in-laws. The power structure in the traditional
Romani household has at its top the oldest man or grandfather, and men
in general have more authority than women. Women gain respect and
authority as they get older. Young wives begin gaining authority once
they have children.

Romani social behavior is strictly regulated by Hindu purity laws
("marime" or "marhime"), still respected by most Roma (and by most
older generations of Sinti). This regulation affects many aspects of
life, and is applied to actions, people and things: parts of the human
body are considered impure: the genital organs (because they produce
emissions), as well as the rest of the lower body. Fingernails and
toenails must be filed with an emery board, as cutting them with a
clipper is a taboo. Clothes for the lower body, as well as the clothes
of menstruating women, are washed separately. Items used for eating
are also washed in a different place. Childbirth is considered impure,
and must occur outside the dwelling place. The mother is considered
impure for forty days after giving birth. Death is considered impure,
and affects the whole family of the dead, who remain impure for a
period of time. In contrast to the practice of cremating the dead,
Romani dead must be buried.[52] Cremation and burial are both known
from the time of the Rigveda, and both are widely practiced in
Hinduism today (although the tendency for higher caste groups is to
burn, while lower caste groups in South India tend to bury their dead).
[53] Some animals are also considered impure, for instance cats
because they lick themselves.[54]

Religion

Muslim Romanies in Bosnia and Herzegovina (around 1900)Migrant Romani
populations have adopted the dominant religion of their country of
residence, while often preserving aspects of older belief systems and
forms of worship. Most Eastern European Romanies are Roman Catholic or
Orthodox Christian or Muslim. Those in western Europe and the United
States are mostly Roman Catholic or Protestant. In Turkey, Egypt, and
the Balkans, the Romanies are split into Christian and Muslim
populations.

Music

Main article: Romani music
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_music

Young Hungarian Romani performing a traditional danceRomani music
plays an important role in Eastern European countries such as Croatia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, the Republic of
Macedonia, Albania, Hungary, and Romania, and the style and
performance practices of Romani musicians have influenced European
classical composers such as Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms. The
lăutari who perform at traditional Romanian weddings are virtually all
Romani. Probably the most internationally prominent contemporary
performers in the lăutari tradition are Taraful Haiducilor. Bulgaria's
popular "wedding music", too, is almost exclusively performed by
Romani musicians such as Ivo Papasov, a virtuoso clarinetist closely
associated with this genre and Bulgarian pop-folk singer Azis. Many
famous classical musicians, such as the Hungarian pianist Georges
Cziffra, are Romani, as are many prominent performers of manele. Zdob
şi Zdub, one of the most prominent rock bands in Moldova, although not
Romanies themselves, draw heavily on Romani music, as do Spitalul de
Urgenţă in Romania, Goran Bregović in Serbia, Darko Rundek in Croatia,
Beirut and Gogol Bordello in the United States.

Another tradition of Romani music is the genre of the Romani brass
band, with such notable practitioners as Boban Marković of Serbia, and
the brass lăutari groups Fanfare Ciocărlia and Fanfare din Cozmesti of
Romania.

The distinctive sound of Romani music has also strongly influenced
bolero, jazz, and flamenco (especially cante jondo) in Europe.
European-style Gypsy jazz ("jazz Manouche" or "Sinti jazz") is still
widely practiced among the original creators (the Romanie People); one
who acknowledged this artistic debt was guitarist Django Reinhardt.
Contemporary artists in this tradition known internationally include
Stochelo Rosenberg, Biréli Lagrène, Jimmy Rosenberg, and Tchavolo
Schmitt.

The Romanies of Turkey have achieved musical acclaim from national and
local audiences. Local performers usually perform for special
holidays. Their music is usually performed on instruments such as the
darbuka and gırnata. A number of nationwide best seller performers are
said to be of Romani origin.[citation needed]

Language

Main article: Romani language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_language

Most Romanies speak one of several dialects of Romani,[55][not in
citation given] an Indo-Aryan language. They also will often speak the
languages of the countries they live in. Typically, they also
incorporate loanwords and calques into Romani from the languages of
those countries, especially words for terms that the Romani language
does not have. Most of the Ciganos of Portugal, the Gitanos of Spain,
the Romanichal of the UK, and Scandinavian Travellers have lost their
knowledge of pure Romani, and respectively speak the mixed languages
Caló,[56] Angloromany, and Scandoromani.

There are independent groups currently working toward standardizing
the language, including groups in Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, the
USA, and Sweden. Romani is not currently spoken in India.[citation
needed]

Persecutions

Main article: Antiziganism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiziganism

Historical persecution

The first and one of the most enduring persecutions against the Romani
people was the enslaving of the Romanies who arrived on the territory
of the historical Romanian states of Wallachia and Moldavia, which
lasted from the 14th century until the second half of the 19th
century. Legislation decreed that all the Romanies living in these
states, as well as any others who would immigrate there, were slaves.
[57]

The arrival of some branches of the Romani people in Western Europe in
the 15th century was precipitated by the Ottoman conquest of the
Balkans. Although the Romanies themselves were refugees from the
conflicts in southeastern Europe, they were mistaken by the local
population in the West, because of their foreign appearance, as part
of the Ottoman invasion (the German Reichstags at Landau and Freiburg
in 1496-1498 declared the Romanies as spies of the Turks). In Western
Europe, this resulted in a violent history of persecution and attempts
of ethnic cleansing until the modern era. As time passed, other
accusations were added against local Romanies (accusations specific to
this area, against non-assimilated minorities), like that of bringing
the plague, usually sharing their burden together with the local Jews.
[58]

One example of official persecution of the Romani is exemplified by
the The Great Roundup of Spanish Romanies (Gitanos) in 1749. The
Spanish monarchy ordered a nationwide raid that led to separation of
families and placement of all able-bodied men into forced labor camps.

Later in the 19th century, Romani immigration was forbidden on a
racial basis in areas outside Europe, mostly in the English speaking
world (in 1885 the United States outlawed the entry of the Roma) and
also in some South American countries (in 1880 Argentina adopted a
similar policy).[58]

Holocaust

Main article: Porajmos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porajmos

Romani arrivals at the Belzec death camp await instructions.The
persecution of the Romanies reached a peak during World War II in the
Porajmos, the genocide perpetrated by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
In 1935, the Nuremberg laws stripped the Romani people living in Nazi
Germany of their citizenship, after which they were subjected to
violence, imprisonment in concentration camps and later genocide in
extermination camps. The policy was extended in areas occupied by the
Nazis during the war, and it was also applied by their allies, notably
the Independent State of Croatia, Romania and Hungary.

Because no accurate pre-war census figures exist for the Romanis, it
is impossible to accurately assess the actual number of victims. Ian
Hancock, director of the Program of Romani Studies at The University
of Texas at Austin, proposes a figure of up to a million and a half,
while an estimate of between 220,000 and 500,000 was made by Sybil
Milton, formerly senior historian of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum.[59] In Central Europe, the extermination in the Protectorate
of Bohemia and Moravia was so thorough that the Bohemian Romani
language became extinct.[citation needed]

Forced assimilation

In the Habsburg Monarchy under Maria Theresia (1740–1780), a series of
decrees tried to force the Romanies to sedentarize, removed rights to
horse and wagon ownership (1754), renamed them as "New Citizens" and
forced Romani boys into military service if they had no trade (1761),
forced them to register with the local authorities (1767), and
prohibited marriage between Romanies (1773). Her successor Josef II
prohibited the wearing of traditional Romani clothing and the use of
the Romani language, punishable by flogging.[60]

In Spain, attempts to assimilate the Gitanos were under way as early
as 1619, when Gitanos were forcibly sedentarized, the use of the
Romani language was prohibited, Gitano men and women were sent to
separate workhouses and their children sent to orphanages. Similar
prohibitions took place in 1783 under King Charles III, who prohibited
the nomadic lifestyle, the use of the Calo language, Romani clothing,
their trade in horses and other itinerant trades. The use of the word
gitano was also forbidden to further assimilation. Ultimately these
measures failed, as the rest of the population rejected the
integration of the Gitanos.[60][61]

Other examples of forced assimilation include Norway, where a law was
passed in 1896 permitting the state to remove children from their
parents and place them in state institutions.[62] This resulted in
some 1,500 Romani children being taken from their parents in the 20th
century.[63]

Contemporary issues

Main article: Modern Antiziganism

Amnesty International reports continued instances of Antizigan
discrimination during the 2000s, particularly in Bulgaria, Romania,
Slovakia,[64] Hungary,[65] Slovenia,[66] and Kosovo.[67]

Czechoslovakia carried out a policy of sterilization of Romani women,
starting in 1973.[68] The dissidents of the Charter 77 denounced it in
1977-78 as a "genocide", but the practice continued through the Velvet
Revolution of 1989.[69] A 2005 report by the Czech government's
independent ombudsman, Otakar Motejl, identified dozens of cases of
coercive sterilization between 1979 and 2001, and called for criminal
investigations and possible prosecution against several health care
workers and administrators.[70]

In 2008, the Italian government declared that Italy's Romani
population represented a national security risk and that swift action
was required to address the emergenza nomadi (gypsy emergency)[71]
Specifically officials in the Italian government accused the Romanies
of being responsible for rising crime rates in urban areas. Mario
Marazziti, spokesperson of the Community of Sant'Egidio human rights
organization said "There is no national emergency ... What is an
emergency is that in the 21st century the life expectancy of a gypsy
living in Italy is under 60 years of age."[72]

Fictional representations

Main article: Fictional representations of Romani people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictional_representations_of_Romani_people

Vincent van Gogh: The Caravans - Gypsy Camp near Arles (1888, Oil on
canvas)Many fictional depictions of the Romani in literature and art
present Romanticized narratives of their supposed mystical powers of
fortune telling, and their supposed irascible or passionate temper
paired with an indomitable love of freedom and a habit of criminality.
Particularly notable are classics like Carmen by Prosper Mérimée and
adapted by Georges Bizet, Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame
and Miguel de Cervantes' La Gitanilla. The Romani were also heavily
romanticized in the Soviet Union, a classic example being the 1975
Tabor ukhodit v Nebo. A more realistic depiction of contemporary
Romani in the Balkans, featuring Romani lay actors speaking in their
native dialects, although still playing with established clichés of a
Romani penchant for both magic and crime, was presented by Emir
Kusturica in his Time of the Gypsies (1988) and Black Cat, White Cat
(1998).

In contemporary literature

The Romani ethnicity is often used for characters in contemporary
fantasy literature. In such literature, the Romani are often portrayed
as possessing archaic occult knowledge passed down through the ages.
This frequent use of the ethnicity has given rise to Gypsy archetypes
in popular contemporary literature. One example of such a use is the
character Jilly Coppercorn in the seminal urban fantasy novel Dreams
Under Foot by Charles de Lint.

See also

References

Notes

^ According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, estimates of the total world
Romani population range from two million to five million.[1]
^ Ian Hancock's 1987 estimate for "all Gypsies in the world" was 6 to
11 million [2].
^ [3] The Spanish government estimates the number of Gitanos at a
maximum of 650,000
^ [4] Census 2001 in Romania: 535,140 Roma
^ [5] There are officially about 500,000 Roma in Turkey.
^ [6] The Romani population in France is officially estimated at
around 500,000
^ [7] Census 2001 in Bulgaria: 370,908 Roma
^ [8] Census 2001 in Hungary: 205,720 Roma/Bea
^ [9] The Romani population in Greece is officially estimated at
200,000
^ [10] Census 2002 in Russia: 182,766 Roma
^ Demographics_of_Italy#Languages Estimated by Ministero degli Interni
del Governo Italiano.
^ [11] Census 2002 in Serbia: 108,193 Romanies
^ [12] Census 2001 in Slovakia: 89,920 Roma
^ [13] 70,000 Roma/Sinti estimated by the German Ministry of Internal
Affairs
^ [14] The 2002-census reported 53,879 Roma and 3,843 "Egyptians"
^ Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily
Life: Vol. 4 - Europe. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications
Development (1998); pg. 316, 318 : "Religion: An underlay of Hinduism
with an overlay of either Christianity or Islam (host country
religion) "; "Roma religious beliefs are rooted in Hinduism. Roma
believe in a universal balance, called kuntari... Despite a 1,000-year
separation from India, Roma still practice shaktism, the worship of a
god through his female consort... ""
^ Matras, Yaron (2002). Romani: a linguistic introduction. Cambridge
University Press. pp. 239. ISBN 9780521631655.
http://books.google.com/books?id=D4IIi0Ha3V4C&pg=PA238&dq=number+speakers+of+Romani.
Retrieved 2009-07-16.
^ We Are the Romani People, Pg XIX,
http://books.google.ro/books?id=MG0ahVw-kdwC&pg=PP1&ots=PiPKTLplWa&sig=Ly3TAfbjs6FqhS7h0e1Yz44qaIk&hl=ro&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPR19,M1,
retrieved 2008-07-31
^ a b We Are the Romani People, Pg XXI,
http://books.google.ro/books?id=MG0ahVw-kdwC&pg=PP1&ots=PiPKTLplWa&sig=Ly3TAfbjs6FqhS7h0e1Yz44qaIk&hl=ro&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPR21,M1,
retrieved 2008-07-31
^ p. 52 in Elena Marushiakova and Vesselin Popov's "Historical and
ethnographic background; Gypsies, Roma, Sinti" in Will Guy [ed.]
Between Past and Future: The Roma of Central and Eastern Europe [with
a Foreword by Dr. Ian Hancock], 2001, UK: University of Hertfordshire
Press
^ p. 13 in Illona Klimova-Alexander's The Romani Voice in World
Politics: The United Nations and Non-State Actors (2005, Burlington,
VT.: Ashgate
^ Rothéa, Xavier. "Les Roms, une nation sans territoire?" (in
French).
http://www.theyliewedie.org/ressources/biblio/fr/Rothea_Xavier_-_Les_roms.html.
Retrieved 2008-07-31.
^ We Are the Romani People, Pg XX,
http://books.google.ro/books?id=MG0ahVw-kdwC&pg=PP1&ots=PiPKTLplWa&sig=Ly3TAfbjs6FqhS7h0e1Yz44qaIk&hl=ro&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPR20,M1,
retrieved 2008-07-31
^ The Institute for Middle East Understanding
^ Online Etymology Dictionary - Douglas Harper
^ Fraser 1992.
^ Hancock, Ian (1995). A Handbook of Vlax Romani. Slavica Publishers.
p. 17.
^ "gitan" (in French). Dictionnaire de l'Académie française.
http://www.academie-francaise.fr/dictionnaire/. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
"Nom donné aux bohémiens d'Espagne ; par ext., synonyme de Bohémien,
Tzigane. Adjt. Une robe gitane."
^ Council of Europe website, European Roma and Travellers Forum
(ERTF)
^ 3.8 million according to Pan and Pfeil, National Minotiries in
Europe (2004), ISBN 978-3700314431, p. 27f.
^ Council of Europe compilation of population estimates
^ Hancock, Ian, 2001, Ame sam e rromane džene / We are the Romani
People, The Open Society Institute, New York, page 2
^ Matras, Yaron, Romani: A linguistic introduction, Cambridge
University Press, 2002, page 5
^ "Names of the Romani People",
http://desicritics.org/2007/12/24/012125.php, retrieved 2009-01-30
^ N.Bessonov, N.Demeter "Ethnic groups of Gypsies"
^ Hancock, Ian. Ame Sam e Rromane Džene/We are the Romani people. p.
13. ISBN 1902806190.
^ Hancock, Ian F.; Dowd, Siobhan; Djurić, Rajko (2004). The roads of
the Roma: a PEN anthology of gypsy writers.. Hatfield, United Kingdom:
University of Hertforshire Press. pp. 14–15. ISBN 0900458909.
^ ""Romani"". Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Oxford:
Elsevier.
http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/downloads/2/Matras_Rmni_ELL.pdf.
Retrieved 30 August 2009.
^ a b Kalaydjieva, Luba (2001). "Genetic studies of the Roma
(Gypsies): A review". BMC Medical Genetics 2: 5. doi:
10.1186/1471-2350-2-5. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2350/2/5.
Retrieved 2008-06-16.
^ "Figure 4". Biomedcentral.com. doi:10.1186/1471-2350-2-5.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2350/2/5/figure/F4. Retrieved
2009-05-06.
^ a b Origins and Divergence of the Roma (Gypsies), PMID 11704928,
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1235543,
retrieved 2008-06-16
^ Mutation history of the Roma-Gypsies, http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:15322984,
retrieved 2008-06-16
^ Jatt mutation found in Romani populations
^ Searching for the origin of Romanies http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18768723
^ Linda Anfuso (1994-02-24). "[at tinhat.stonemarche.org gypsies]".
rec.org.sca. (Web link). Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
^ "A Chronology of significant dates in Romani history". Archived from
the original on 2004-12-04.
http://web.archive.org/web/20041204203106/radoc.net/chronology.html.
^ Hancock, Ian, 2001, Ame sam e rromane džene / We are the Romani
People, The Open Society Institute, New York, page 25
^ On the road: Centuries of Roma history, Delia Radu, BBC World
Service, 8 July 2009
^ ROMANIES AND THE HOLOCAUST: A REEVALUATION AND AN OVERVIEW
^ Denysenko, Marina (2007-03-12). "Sterilised Roma accuse Czechs". BBC
News.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6409699.stm.
^ Thomas, Jeffrey (2006-08-16). "Coercive Sterilization of Romani
Women Examined at Hearing: New report focuses on Czech Republic and
Slovakia". Washington File. Bureau of International Information
Programs, U.S. Department of State.
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=August&x=200608171045451CJsamohT0.678158.
^ "Romani Customs and Traditions: Death Rituals and Customs". Patrin
Web Journal.
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/death.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
[dead link]
^ David M. Knipe. "The Journey of a Lifebody".
http://www.hindugateway.com/library/rituals/. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
^ Hancock, Ian, 2001, Ame sam e rromane džene / We are the Romani
People, The Open Society Institute, New York, page 81
^ Dieter W. Halwachs. "Speakers and Numbers (distribution of Romani-
speaking Romani population by country)" (PDF). Rombase.
http://romani.uni-graz.at/rombase/cd/data/lang/gen/data/numbers.en.pdf.
^ Raymond G. Gordon Jr., ed (2005). "Caló: A language of Spain".
Ethnologue: Languages of the World (15th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL
International. ISBN 9781556711596.
http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=rmr.
^ Delia Grigore, Petre Petcuţ and Mariana Sandu (2005) (in Romanian).
Istoria şi tradiţiile minorităţii rromani. Bucharest: Sigma. p. 36.
^ a b "Timeline of Romani History". Patrin Web Journal.
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/timeline.htm. Retrieved
2007-08-26. [dead link]
^ Most estimates for numbers of Romani victims of the Holocaust fall
between 200,000 and 500,000, although figures ranging between 90,000
and 4 million have been proposed. Lower estimates do not include those
killed in all Axis-controlled countries. A detailed study by Sybil
Milton, formerly senior historian at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum
gave a figure of at least a minimum of 220,000, probably higher,
possibly closer to 500,000 (cited in Re. Holocaust Victim Assets
Litigation (Swiss Banks) Special Master's Proposals, September 11,
2000). Ian Hancock, Director of the Program of Romani Studies and the
Romani Archives and Documentation Center at the University of Texas at
Austin, argues in favour of a higher figure of between 500,000 and
1,500,000 in his 2004 article, Romanies and the Holocaust: A
Reevaluation and an Overview as published in Stone, D. (ed.) (2004)
The Historiography of the Holocaust. Palgrave, Basingstoke and New
York.
^ a b Samer, Helmut (December 2001). "Maria Theresia and Joseph II:
Policies of Assimilation in the Age of Enlightened Absolutism.".
Rombase. Karl-Franzens-Universitaet Graz.
http://romani.uni-graz.at/rombase/cgi-bin/art.cgi?src=data/hist/modern/maria.en.xml.
^ "Gitanos. History and Cultural Relations.". World Culture
Encyclopedia.
http://www.everyculture.com/Europe/Gitanos-History-and-Cultural-Relations.html.
Retrieved 2007-08-26.
^ "Roma (Gypsies) in Norway".
http://www.geocities.com/~Patrin/norway.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
[dead link]
^ "The Church of Norway and the Roma of Norway". World Council of
Churches. 2002-09-03.
http://www2.wcc-coe.org/ccdocuments.nsf/index/plen-4.4-en.html.
^ "Amnesty International". Web.amnesty.org. 2009-04-20.
http://web.amnesty.org/wire/February2002/Europe_Roma. Retrieved
2009-05-06.
^ Woodard, Colin (2008-02-13). "Hungary's anti-Roma militia grows |
csmonitor.com". csmonitor.com<!.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0213/p07s02-woeu.html. Retrieved
2009-05-06.
^ "roma | Human Rights Press Point". Humanrightspoint.si.
http://www.humanrightspoint.si/node/12. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
^ Gesellschaft fuer bedrohte Voelker - Society for Threatened Peoples.
"Roma and Ashkali in Kosovo: Persecuted, driven out, poisoned".
Gfbv.de.
http://www.gfbv.de/inhaltsDok.php?id=612. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
^ Sterilised Roma accuse Czechs, BBC, 12 March 2007 (English)
^ For Gypsies, Eugenics is a Modern Problem - Czech Practice Dates to
Soviet Era, Newsdesk, June 12, 2006 (English)
^ http://www.ochrance.cz/en/dokumenty/dokument.php?doc=400
^ "Italy's new ghetto?". The Guardian. March 30, 2009.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/30/roma-italy.
^ Italy assailed over plan to fingerprint Gypsies | International
Herald Tribune

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McDowell, Bart (1970). "Gypsies, Wanderers of the World". National
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"Gypsies, The World's Outsiders." National Geographic, April 2001,
72-101.
Ringold, Dena. Roma & the Transition in Central & Eastern Europe:
Trends & Challenges. Washington, DC, USA: World Bank, 2000. pg. 3,5, &
7.
Roberts, Samuel. The Gypsies: Their Origin, Continuance, and
Destination. London: Longman, 4th edition, 1842.
Silverman, Carol. "Persecution and Politicization: Roma (Gypsies) of
Eastern Europe." Cultural Survival Quarterly, Summer 1995.
Simson, Walter. History of the Gipsies. London: S. Low, 1865.
Tebbutt, Susan (Ed., 1998) Sinti and Roma in German-speaking Society
and Literature. Oxford: Berghahn.
Turner, Ralph L. (1926) The Position of Romani in Indo-Aryan. In:
Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society 3rd Ser. 5/4, pp. 145–188.
Danish Broadcasting Corporation A page in Danish about Romani
treatment in Denmark

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Roma people

European Parliament resolution on the situation of the Roma in the
European Union - April 28, 2005
Final report on the human rights situation of the Roma, Sinti and
travellers in Europe by the European Commissioner for Human Rights
(Council of Europe) - February 15, 2006
Non-governmental organisations
European Roma Rights Centre - European Romani NGO
Roma Rights Network - Romani INGO
Museums and libraries
Museum of Romani Culture in Brno, Czech Republic (in Czech)[17]
Specialized Library with Archive "Studii Romani" in Sofia, Bulgaria
(Bulgarian, English)
Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma in
Heidelberg, Germany (German, English)
Ethnographic Museum in Tarnów, Poland. Click "ROMA (CYGANIE)" on the
menu at left. (Polish, English, Romani)
Who we Were, Who we Are: Kosovo Roma Oral History Collection. The most
comprehensive collection of information on Kosovo's Roma in existence.
(English)

v • d • eRomani people around the world

Cultural groups

Roma (Boyash • Kalderash • Lovari • Machvaya • Ruska Roma • Servitko
Roma • Ursari • Muslim Roma) • Ashkali • Cascarots • Erromintxela •
Gitanos • Finnish Kale • Welsh Kale • Romanichal • Sinti • Manouche •
Scandinavian Travellers (Tavinger, Romanisæl) • Kawliya
(sometimes considered Romani: Dom • Lom • Lyuli • Bosha • Garachi)

By location:

Central and Eastern Europe: Croatia • Bosnia and Herzegovina •
Bulgaria • Greece • Cyprus • Hungary • Kosovo • Macedonia • Romania •
Russia • Serbia • Slovakia • Spain • Ukraine
Western and Northern Europe: Finland • France • Spain
Near East: Armenia • Syria • Turkey
Americas: Black Dutch

Settlements and communities

Sulukule • Agia Varvara • Mitrovica refugee camps • Stolipinovo •
Rudolice nad Bílinou • Šuto Orizari Municipality • Bangladeš • Budeşti
• Jatagan Mala • Zanea

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people"

Pages in category "Roma"

The following 39 pages are in this category, out of 39 total. This
list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).

Romani people

Antiziganism

C
Central Council of German Sinti and Roma
Roma (Romani subgroup)
D
Romani dance
Didem (Belly Dancer)
F
Fictional representations of Romani people
Flag of the Romani people
G
Gypsy
Gypsy Scourge
K
Ketani Association
L
Lavengro
List of Romani settlements
M
M50 Roma Emcampment Ireland
Kurt May
N
Ranjit Naik
Names of the Romani people
O
Opera Nomadi
R
Rayito
Relations between ethnic Czechs and Roma
Rokker Radio
Roma Special School
Roma in United Nations refugee camps, Kosovska Mitrovica
Romani people of Vojvodina
Romani studies
Romany crucifixion legend
R cont.
Romska Inteligencia za Spolunazivanie
Rudolice nad Bílinou
S
Sapera
The Scholar Gipsy
Selamsız
Sinti
Stolipinovo
Sulukule
U
United Roma Party of Kosovo
Ústí nad Labem
Y
Yeniche language
Z
Zargari people
Zoli

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people

The Lost Tribes of India
By Jeetan Sareen
Aug 29, 2005

The history of the ethnic group, known collectively as the "Gypsies,"
is a long and muddled one. For a long time, no one knew their origins.
Now as we’re beginning to unravel their past, their future is
uncertain. But what is certain is an underlying culture that connects
Gypsies regardless of what part of the world they are settled in.

Who are you and whence do you come?
Why have you forgotten yourself? Oh, my darling!
These lice-ridden Gorgios gave you dirty and false names as Lubni and
Mugni, Xorasani and Osmani,
But you are Mother India's forgotten child Ramni, now called Romni.
In fact you are the flowing Ganges water mixed with the waters of the
river Nile, Euphrates and Danube.

- J.S. Pathania (re-translated from the Romani original)

It is well accepted now that the Gypsies probably originated from
India. There are many legends that attest to this, as well as
linguistic ties that make this conclusion all but guaranteed.
Moreover, cultural similarities have led most scholars to agree with
this theory. The Gypsies, or as they call themselves Roma, are a
curious ethnicity that "never sleep twice in the same place never
drink water twice from the same well, and never cross the same river
twice in one year." I would like to explain a very brief history of
the Gypsies, and show the underlying Indian connection to this ethnic
group. In recent years (especially since the fall of the Easter Bloc),
the Romani have attempted to connect with their Indian past, and
perhaps we should know more about these lost relatives, so we can
forge closer ties. Since most Romani live in Eastern Europe, it may
help Indians, and India solidify stronger ties with Eastern Europeans
as well. This can be a connection with large ramifications. At the
very least, we will learn more about an ethnic group that has forever
been dismissed, ridiculed and downright denigrated.

The term "Gypsies" is an historical aberration, and actually
originated in the region of Armenia. A few hundred years ago the
Gypsies had settled into this region and formed camps in and on the
outskirts of cities. One major camp was known as "Little Egypt",
because the locals believed the people were from Egypt. Thus the term
Gypsies is derived from Egyptian. However, the connection to Egypt is
all but completely non-existent.

There are many legends in Roma culture. Roma culture is filled with
exquisite stories, and is very art-oriented, something I have always
found true with our great Hindu/Indian culture. Roma culture is also
very music-oriented, and there is reason to believe that there is an
Indian connection to this. One very popular Roma myth explains how the
Romani were forced out of India:

From Konrad Bercovici, STORY OF THE GYPSIES [1]:

We were then living on the Ganges. And our chief was a powerful chief…
a man whose voice was heard over all the land and whose judgments were
final. This chief had an only son whose name was Tchen.

In the land of the Hind there ruled a powerful king whose favorite
wife had borne him an only child, a daughter, whom he named Gan. One
day a sorcerer told this king that a man was to invade the Hind, at
the head of a numerous horde and overrun the land and destroy the king
and his family, and become the master of the country. The sorcerer
also told him that this conqueror should be immune from every form of
death, but that it was written that he would perish if he should do
violence to the Gypsy.

To save his newly-born daughter, the king called our chief, Tchen's
father, whose friend he was, and it was agreed between them that the
child was to be taken secretly to the tent of the Gypsy chief and only
the chief's wife would know who the child really was. Three days later
our Barrosan announced to his people that his wife had given birth to
a girl, and that her name was Gan...and so it was that Tchen and Gan
grew up in the same tent.

When Tchen was to be wived, they asked him to choose from the girls of
his tribe, but there was no one he desired. Again and again, the most
beautiful girls danced before him, but he found none to his liking. In
the meantime, the old chief died. Tchen threatened to kill himself,
for he realized that he loved his own sister. So his mother told him
that Gan was the daughter of the king of the Hind and not his sister.

The people were torn in two; those who agreed that everything the
young chief did was right, and the other which swore not to live under
a chief who married his own sister. Tchen dared not tell the truth,
lest the invader destroy Gan.

Meanwhile one of Skender's generals came down like a cyclone upon the
land of the Hind, devastating and destroying everything. As the
sorcerer had foretold, the king of the Hind was killed with all his
wives...their bones left under a pile of stones at the ruined palace.
One of the Gypsies approached this great conqueror to ask him for a
judgment on a sister marrying a brother… but the conqueror looked at
him with scorn and hit him a fatal blow on the head. At that moment,
the great general and his horse burst and crumbled like a clay pot
tossed on a rock. The wind blew his remains into the desert.

Those who opposed Tchen pursued him and his followers to the end of
the land and beyond. Those who had remained faithful to their chief
were called "Tchen-Gans" ...meaning brothers who married their
sisters. And a great sorcerer cursed Tchen and those following him,
saying that they should forever wander over the face of the earth,
never sleep twice in the same place never drink water twice from the
same well, and never cross the same river twice in one year.

Though this particular legend suggests the Roma are from the Ganges
region of India, the veracity of such legends is tough to measure. For
centuries the origins of the Gypsies were shrouded in mystery. Here
today and gone tomorrow, these banks of dark-skinned nomads with
strange habits aroused the curiosity of sedentary populations, and
many writers constructed a variety of often far-fetched hypotheses in
an attempt to explain the enigma.

In the nineteenth century, although scientific investigation had
already provided the answer, the most fantastic myths were still being
made.

This jumble of ingenious superstitions and shaky hypotheses did not
survive serious study of the language of the Gypsies. As early as
during the Renaissance scholars had some notions of this language, but
they did not connect it to any linguistic group nor locate the area in
which it originated. At the end of the eighteenth century, however,
scholars were able to determine the origin of the Gypsies on the basis
of scientific evidence.

Since then eminent linguists have confirmed the analyses of these
early scholars. The grammar and vocabulary of the language of the
Gypsies are close to those of Sanskrit and to such living languages as
Kashmiri, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Nepali. Modern scholars no
longer doubt that the Gypsies originated in India, but many problems
concerning ethnic group, social class, and the period of their
earliest migrations still need to be elucidated.

Linguistics is the discipline best able to locate the origin of the
Gypsies, but anthropology, medical science and ethnology also have a
contribution to make.

Documentation on the period that may be called "the prehistory of the
Gypsies" is extremely limited. The writers of ancient India were only
interested in gods and kings, and paid scant attention to the people
known as the Zott, the Jat, the Luli, the Nuri, or the Dom. [2]

Today it is known that Romani, the language of the Gypsies, is a
sister language of Sanskrit. This was first proven by a German
philologist, H.M.G. Grellman, in the late eighteenth century, who
conducted a study of Romani words (later consolidated in a fifteen
page catalogue) and compared it to Sanskrit, finding at least a third
of them to be of Hindu origin. Future comparisons yielded the
discovery that the grammatical construction and vocabulary of Romani
very closely resembles that of the language spoken by the Jats, a
nomadic tribe of northwestern India. [3]

Many now believe that the Roma were a group from NorthWest India,
mainly low-caste Sudra, who left India. Many legends suggest they were
banished. These people traveled through the Mid-East, and eventually
reached Europe. There are three main migration periods. The first is
the exodus from India. The second is the movement from the Mid-East to
Europe (mainly the Armenian "Little Egypt" Region). The third has been
post-World War II. The Roma were absolutely destroyed by the Nazi's
who killed them en masse (in fact the death penalty was less stringent
for Jews than for the Roma. If you were 1/4 Jewish, you would be
killed, but if you were 1/16th Roma, you would be put to death). This
was not new, the persecution of the Gypsies began centuries prior to
the 1940's, and was a part of the Northern Europe's cultural heritage
so to speak.

Today, the Roma are dispersed into three categories, based on
geography the Rom (European Roma), Lom (specifically the Armenians),
and Dom (in the Mid-east, specifically Iran). These terms are all
phonetically correspondent to Sanskrit's "domba", or modern Indian
terms like dom or dum.

In Sanskrit domba means “man of low caste living by singing and
music.” In modern Indian tongues the corresponding words have similar
or related meanings: in Lahnda it is “menial”; in Sindhi, “caste of
wandering musician”; in Panjabi, “strolling musician”; in West Pahari
it means “low-caste man.” There are references to the Dom as musicians
from the sixteenth century. The Dom still exist in India; they are
nomads who do a number of jobs: basket-making, smithing, metalworking,
scavenging, music-making. Not surprisingly, many people have leapt on
a Dom theory of origins for the Gypsies.

This also makes sense in a cultural sense, since the Roma have
traditionally been known for two types of work: either art/music
related, or metallurgy. [3] In fact, it is the Roma's metallurgy
ability that has led many to believe they helped educate the world
about the ancient Indian techniques.

By 400 A.D., we see the first mention of the group that would one day
be called the Gypsies. Bahram Gur, Shah of Persia, sends for 10,000
Luri (or Zotts, depending on which translation) to be brought from the
borders of India into his court. These Zotts were renowned musicians
and dancers at this time. They became favorites of the Persian court,
to the point that once the Caliphs took over, the Zotts (derivation of
Jatts perhaps) were moved to Antioch to keep them away from the courts
in case they were still sympathetic to the deposed Shah.

When they went to Antioch, they took their music, and their cattle.
They were a settled people there, until c. 820 A.D., when they were
forcibly moved from the area to Baghdad, then separated into smaller
groups so as not to cause any more trouble for the Arabs over their
cattle-grazing rights.

By 1050 A.D., the gypsies had made their way to Constantinople and the
rest of the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Monomachus asked the Adsincani
(derived from the Greek "Atsinganoi" which is the root word for
various names that the gypsies are called now, such as Tzigane,
Zincali, etc.) to rid his forests of the wild animals which were
killing off his stock in his hunting preserve. These people were well
known for their ability with animals, along with their proficiency at
metalwork and music.

As the Ottoman Empire spread, so did the gypsies. They are recorded in
Serbia in 1348, Bulgaria in 1378 and can be documented in Hungary in
1383. The Ottomans were actually the first to refer to the gypsies as
"Egyptians" in 1396 in what is now Bulgaria. These were a useful and
well-received people in the Middle East and Eastern Europe during this
time on the whole. The only place that this could not be said was true
was in Romania. In 1385 there is the first record of gypsy slaves. But
even then, they were coveted all over for their abilities in
metalwork, music and animal handling. They also became well known as
proficient mercenaries for hire, their prowess on the field legendary
in Hungary and Romania, both fighting for the Turks and against them.

In 1407, everything changed for the gypsies. Historians are divided as
to how they came up with the idea to go to Western Europe as penitent
pilgrims. To the gypsies, this "pilgrimage" is known as the Hakko
Baro, or the Great Game/Scam [4]. They appeared outside of the gates
of Hildesheim, Germany, with letters from King Sigismund, the Holy
Roman Emperor, granting them safe passage through all lands under his
domain. From there, they traveled to Italy, telling their story to the
Pope, who in turn gave them letters of safe passage and a letter
stating that all dioceses that these people come across would give
them money and food.

When they showed up with these letters outside the gates of Paris in
1427, they caused quite a commotion. An alderman wrote in his journal
of their approach to the gates, with the "barely clad women" telling
people’s fortunes, and their men dressed in scarlet, daring you to
ignore them. All in their traveling group stayed outside the gates but
for their leaders, who presented the letters to the authorities in the
city.

Once they appeared in Western Europe, opinions began to change on how
useful and alike to others the Gypsies were. In Eastern Europe and
Germany, you see legislation begin to be passed forbidding gypsies
entry into certain towns. The reasoning behind these laws was to quell
the idea that they gypsies were Turkish spies and traitors to whatever
country they were in at the time. Unfortunately, all this seemed to do
was incite more and more suspicion, which eventually made the Gypsies
second-class citizens in most Europeans eyes.

By the mid-16th century, the gypsies were not even safe in Turkish-
controlled lands. What was different here was the fact that the
settled Gypsies were the ones being persecuted here, instead of the
nomadic Gypsies. They were taxed heavily, and "persuaded" to convert
to Islam, sometimes being imprisoned and/or killed for not converting.

From this time period on, Gypsies become outcasts, with the peak of
dehumanization and torture appearing during World War II with the
Final Solution encompassing Gypsies along with Jews. Along with the
human loss from that time, we also lost many of the people who
actually may have been able to answer some of the questions that
historians still pose today as to the origins of this people. [4]

To the Roma the persecution during the 1940's is as important as it is
to the Jews. The Romani Anthem (International Roma organizations have
attempted to codify Roma culture in an attempt to unite the various
groups. The Roma now have an anthem, as well as a flag that contains a
16 spoke -as opposed to the Indian 24 spoke- Chakra) articulates the
troubled history of these people [5]:

I went, I went on long roads
I met happy Roma
O Roma where do you come from,
With tents on happy roads?
O Roma, O fellow Roma

I once had a great family,
The Black Legions* murdered them
Come with me Roma from all the world
For the Romani roads have opened
Now is the time, rise up Roma now,
We will rise high if we act

O Roma, O fellow Roma

*(the Black Legions refers to the Black uniformed SS, Gestapo as well
as the "Death's Head Battalion" concentration camp units).

Today the Roma are trying to reach out to their past, and understand
themselves better. Freedom after the fall of the Soviet Bloc has
created an impetus to learn more about themselves. Clearly this has
led them to turn their sights and hearts towards India. It is
important for us Indians, and specifically us Hindus, to reach out to
this community. They are a great example of the plight of Indians
around the world. They have endured persecution from the Arabs, the
Nazis and have been sent on Slave-ships to the Americas. They have
inhabited most of the world at some point, and have been ambassadors
of Indian culture and science. They are known for their metallurgy,
and their music, two talents India has always been known for as well.
For many Roma a new identity, which one might call “Hindupen” is
growing out of an unprecedented pride in origins. [3]

In conclusion, I would like to suggest we have an appreciation for
these people, who even today, are ridiculed and derided. The term
"Gypsy" has a bad connotation, and is of ill-repute. It is best to
know more about them, if for nothing at least to learn more about our
own ancient land, which they proudly believe to be their own as well.

References:

[1] http://www.dancers-archive.com/med-dance/legends.txt
[2] http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/homeland.htm
[3] http://pages.slc.edu/~badams/GIFandJPEG/Hindupenpage.htm
[4] http://www.florilegium.org/files/CULTURES/Gypsies-art.html
[5] http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/gelem.htm

http://www.swaveda.com/articles.php?action=show&id=31

http://thetruthwholetruthandnothingbuttruth.blogspot.com/2010/04/not-required-indian-nri-sid-harth.html

navanavonmilita

unread,

Apr 11, 2010, 1:54:47 AM4/11/10

Caste, Cast in Stone: Sid Harth

Kunbi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Castes of India

Maratha Kunbi
Classification Hindu Kshatriya
Religions Hinduism

Language Hindi, Chhattisgarhi, Marathi, Konkani, Gujrati, South Indian
languages and dialects
Populated States Northern India, Western India, Central India, South
India
People from the Kunbi (also called Kurmi) community in India belong to
a sub-caste of the Kshatriya varna.[citation needed] The word kunabi
is a generic term equivalent to farmer in English. According to the
great Indian mythology God Rama had two sons one Luv and other Kush.
Luv's successors came to known as lavyas who settled in Kashmir and
later moved towardsTother parts of the country mentioned below .
Successors of kush came to be known as Kushwahas, who basically
setteled in northern plains of India. Ancient Kurmis (then known as
Patidars) formed governing bodies in Gujarat, Maharastra, Sindh,
Kashmir, The Eastern Afghanistan Plains, Indus River Valley, and parts
of Pakistan in pre-mughal times. They became owners of land, and
issued it for farming in pattas. Owners of pattas were called
Patildars or Patidars >> Patel & Patil. Later, they further sub-
divided into many other sub-castes.

In India, societies like Kshatriyas Maratha, Rajput, Yadav, Gujjar,
Raju, and others possess ruling powers but later due to population
expansion and other causes they also worked or lived as farmers and
formed corresponding societies.

Kshatriyas and agriculture

“ "A Kshatriya who has fallen into distress, may subsist by all these
means..." ”
— Laws of Manu, X:95 [1]

As per ancient Hindu texts, agriculture is permissible to Kshatriyas
under special circumstances [1] in the absence of opportunities in the
military and feudal apparatus of a righteous Aryan king. Indeed, the
service in the army of an unrighteous, or a 'Yavana', or a 'Maleccha',
king was the biggest imaginable anathema for a concentious and
observant vedic kshatriya in ancient India. A vedic kshatriya was not
a mercenary soldier but a defender of faith and righteous order
(dharma).

Culture

Some Hindu-Kunbis perform the Upanayana[citation needed] Samskara as
per their family traditions which is as per the original clan they
follow,though it is not a compulsion & at places not considered right
amongst themselves. In the past Kunbis have larger houses - some were
called WADA, some were GADHI (fortressed complex) and some also had
KEELLA (a fort). Most of the historical evidences are managed and
maintained by National (India) and State (Maharashtra) level
government departments, although there are many families who maintain
their own set of documents or evidences as a mark of family assets.
Large scale Kunbi farmers generally maintain large herds of dairy
cattle and a number of horses.

List of famous Maratha Saints

Saint Tukaram A 17th Century popular poet.
Siddharameshwar Maharaj A guru of Nondualism, a saint of Solapur and
guru of Nisargadatta Maharaj and Ranjith Maharaj.
Nisargadatta Maharaj One of the world famous disciples of
Siddharameshwar Maharaj and author of book I Am That.He has many
international disciples who are famous and preach in USA, Europe &
Australia. Some of his disciples are John Wheeler & Bob Adamson.
Rashtra Saint Tukdoji Maharaj A national saint, musician and social
reformer. He wrote Gramgeeta for rural development.

Maratha Kunabi Society

Kunabi Maratha is Cluster of Royal 96 clans and Peasantry Class of
Maharashtra and also Maratha Royalties Proclaimed themeselves farmer
as they were landlords.Royal 96 clans marry among only Maratha Farmers
i.e.Maratha Kunabi ,not other Kunabi's from non-maratha cast.

Kunbis, also known as Kunbi Marathas, are a Maratha sub-caste residing
primarily in provinces of India such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,
Gujarat, Karnataka etc.

Betul District (Madhya Pradesh) is one of the higher kunbi population
place.

List of other Saints

Shree Saint Gulabrao Maharaj was blind from birth. He preached Vedas
to the Brahmins.
Shree Sant Gadaji Maharaj A saint, visionary leader and social
reformer in 1700. He saved his own village from the mughal occupation
and became famous for his extraordinary leadership and visionary
speeches. Nearly 20 thousand people gather on holy occasions to
remember him.

List of famous Kunbi Marathi Women

Lalita Pawar was a Bollywood actor known as the The Mother of all
mothers-in-law in films. She was born into a rich Yevle family of
Nashik and was married to Raj Prakash Gupta and lived in Pune. She
started her career in silent films in 1928 and acted in more than 500
Hindi and Marathi films.
Smita Patil was a Bollywood actor who was the first Asian cine-star to
have the unique honor of Retrospectives in Paris and La Rochelle, (at
the promptings of no less a film luminary than Director Costa Gavras),
a two-time Best Actress award winner at the National Film Festival
(Bhumika and Chakra) and a Padmashree. She was a keen photographer and
died at the age of 31.
Smt Prabha Rau is now the Governor of Himachal Pradesh and is the
former president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committie. She is a
sports person and has represented Maharashtra in the long jump, high
jump, hurdles, discus throw and running. She is also a musician, and
holds a Masters degree in Politics and Music.
Smt Kumud Pawade was a renowned Sanskrit scholar, author and a
professor. She was born in Nagpur in 1938 into a Mahar family
considered to be untouchable before the 1950s. She married Motiram
Pawade a social worker who was from a Maratha family. She was also the
president of All India Progressive Woman's Organization.
Mrs Ujjwala Raut-Sterry is India's most accomplished supermodel now
settled in the US. She has won awards in both India and
internationally for her performance as a model. Born and brought up in
Mumbai, she is married to British film producer Craig Maxwell Sterry.
She has also been on the cover of Time magazine.
'Miss India Sayali Bhagat', A famous bollywood actress is from Nasik

List of famous Kunbi Men

Yashaskara, King of KashmirDynasties of Ancient Kashmir. After the
Utpala dynasty, a Yashaskara became king. (V 469). He was a great-
grandson of a Viradeva, a Kutumbi (V 469). He was from the kutumbi
group (also known as kurmis of UP and Kunbis of Gujarat/Maharashtra)
and the son of a treasurer of Karkota Shamkaravarman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasties_of_Ancient_Kashmir#The_Dynasties
Shri Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil His father was a small scale farmer and
Shivajirao as a child used to sell vegetables in Mumbai. At one time
he even struggled to get daily bread. He got his first job as a peon
in Zenith Computers a software company based in Mumbai. With his
company owner's support, he started taking part time classes in
English. This company was a turning point for him and later on he
started his own company Dynalog Limited, that supplies electronics
good to Defense, Education and Industries. Shivajirao's company has
now grown into famous venture well known in India and Internationally.
Shivajirao has won numerous awards for his achievement both at state
and national level. Due to trouble faced him in getting education
during his childhood, he started a school for kids. Besides being a
Industrialist he is a Member of Parliament from Shiv Sena.
Dr Shrikant Jichkar, MP, Member of Rajya Sabha, Cabinet Minister of
Maharashtra holds 20 postgraduate degrees. He has obtained 28 Gold
Medals. Between 1972 and 1990 he wrote 42 University Examinations. He
was also IPS officer and IAS officer. At 25 years of age, he became
the Youngest MLA in India. He was also leading Indian delegations on
several forums including the UNO, UNESCO. He is founder of Kavi
Kulaguru Kalidas (India's firstSanskrit University). He is Managing
Editor of Nagpur Times and Nagpur Patrika and Founding Chairman of
National Institute of Amateur Radio. (The Guinness World Records lists
him as 'Politician with most qualifications'. He was the first Non-
Brahmin to be awarded the Dixit Title)
Sandeep Patil is a cricket player and former coach of the Kenya
Cricket Team that reached World Cup Semi-Finals in 2003. He had a
record for six fours in a cricket over.
Barrister S. K. Wankhede is a former BCCI President and State
Minister. He was married to the late Smt Kusumtai (from a Brahmin
family) who greatly contributed to his career success. Due to his
contribution to Indian cricket a stadium was named after him.
Shri Anant Geete is a Member of Parliament and former Union Minister
of Power. He is involved in power reforms that started during orthodox
BJP Led-NDA central government. He belongs to Konkan Region.
Shri Datta Meghe is Educationists, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha.
He runs several educational institutes in Mumbai and Central India.
Dr Atul Gawande is a second generation Harvard professor and doctor,
who is also a columnist in US. He was a student at Stanford and Oxford.
[1]
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/faculty/atul-gawande/
Late Dwarkanath Laxman Mhaskar known as Dadasaheb was the President of
Tillori Kunbi Maratha Samaj (Mumbai). He has worked with his father
Late Laxman Krishnaji Mhaskar in Govt central press, Mumbai when the
freedom movement started, he later gave his resignation and got
involved in to the movement. He was even attached with various school
and colleges, as donor and committee member. He was vice president of
Mumbai Sharirik Shikshan Mandal Headed by Late Appa Samant(Fanas wadi
Koliwadi). Also he had formed Maharashtara Rajya Hu-tu-tu Maha Mandal.
He has arranged many tournaments in Mumbai and Rest of the state. He
had formed Shreerang Co-operative Housing Society Limited, with help
of Late S K Wankhede,(Former State Finance Minister) and Sumati Devi
Dhanavte (M.L.A.)frm Nagpur. This was the biggest Housing Society in
India. He even participated in the separation of Mumbai region from
Sanyukta Maharashtra. He even went to jail during this movement. Govt
of Maharashtra awarded him as Justice of Peace for 35 years. He has
traveled abroad for many social seminar in many countries. He died in
May 88 in Thane. Facts by Anant Dwarkanath Mhaskar and Amar Anant
Mhaskar.
Rajnikanth (Birth Name:Shivaji Rao Gaekwad) also known as Super star
is a famous Indian film actor. He is the second highest paid actor in
Asia after Jackie Chan. He is a follower of Raghavendra Swami.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajnikanth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Chan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raghavendra_Swami
Harish Raut (1925–2002) was born in Bordi. He was one of the best
painters and his paintings appear in national galleries, government
offices, museums in India and abroad and on greeting cards. He has won
several state and national awards for his painting. His paintings
mainly focus on rural life in India. His natural skill was identified
and furthered by Government of Maharashtra.

Anil Mahajan Pandagre A Youngest person a famous Socialworkar &
Administer kunbi community webparchayika ...[2] At present he is
active kunbi,s Data collection in India.
http://www.lonarikunbi.in/
Dr. R B Thakare Former adviser to World Bank and Asian Development
Bank. He obtained his PhD from University of California, Berkly. He is
a widely recognized expert in the field of [Agriculture]. He has
number of publications in international journals and is a Board of
Member on various universities and institutes in India. At present he
is active in India solving farmers problems.
Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh was a famous social reformer, educationists and
freedom fighter in Vidarbha. He was the founder of Shivaji Education
Society at Amravati and was a Union Minister of Agriculture in Pandit
Nehru's government. He completed his Ph.D at University of Cambridge.
He returned to India was involved in reforms and was also associated
with Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panjabrao_Deshmukh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhimrao_Ambedkar

Sanjay Raut A famous Shiv Sena member and a journalist by profession.
He is the Editor of Shiv Sena daily news paper Saamna. He is also a
Member of Parliament.
Aditya Raut Youngest person in the world to swim across five
continental channels [3]
Shaheed Major Manishi Pitambare recipient of Kranti Chakra, died in
Kashmir valley while fighting with militants was from Murabad in Thane
District

[edit] Demographics

Historical social Structure in Central India

Kunbis of Maharashtra are known as Marathas as they form the farming
section of Marathas. Kunbis from Maharashtra have a 12 and 1/2 (also
known as Saade Bara) clan system. The 12 clans predominantly consist
of Indo-Aryan races and 1/2 part consists of other clans. Names of
clans are listed below [4]

Dhanoje - Located in Vidarbha region. Mainly farming. Few Dhanoje
kunbi's are very rich in Chandrapur region. Many of them have started
education institutes in vidarbha region. They are mainly into farming
and but with time youth of this caste is now well educated and settled
in other parts of country and in foreign countries. Strong presence in
the politics of Vidarbha region especially Amarawati, Chandrapur,
Yeotmal.
Tirale, most prosperous caste in number of parts of Maharashtra and
now dominant in politics in Vidarbha and Khandesh. (Tirale is the most
ancient of all the sub castes and represents the Rajputs from Therol
from Rajputana)[5][6]
Lonari (Farming,business)
Vandhekars (i.e Deshmukhs) and Jadhav (administration, business,
farming and now politically dominant)
Ahire,
Bawne:located in Bhandara and Nagpur district. Mainly farmer community
and well learned and works in govt. and private firms. Dominant as
population wise in most of the villages in Bhandara and Kuhi tahsil,
Ramtek and Umred tahsil villages.
Vanjari and Dhanoje (money lenders, business and farming)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanjari_(caste)
Lonare, Zade, Beldar, Ghatole, Killedar and Dhakane http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beldar
Mana, Kare, Karadi and Khedule and Dait
Khaire and Jungli (tribals involved in farming)
Jadhavs with surnames Sonar, sonare, khapare, dhuldhar, bhurkunde,
Tatte, Bhad, Deshmukh reside mainly in Vidharbha specially in western
regions like Amaravati.
Valte:Located in Vijapur (Duparepada)in Wada Tehsil & Thane
District...Have only one family byt now it is distributed into the 4-5
families at Duparepada,Kudus,Sarshi & supegaon...Mahesh Valte
Bhowad, sud

References
^ a b Laws of Manu, Chapter X, Verses 90, 95, 116

[edit] External links

Kshatriya lonari kunbi Samaj [7] http://www.lonarikunbi.in/
Patidar Samaj Online [8] http://www.patidarsamajofne.org/history.html
Marathi Leva Samaj [9] http://marathilevasamaj.org/
Global Kurmi Group [10] http://www.kurmigroup.org/
Patidar Samaj [11] http://www.patidarsamaj.org/
OBC INFORMATION by SHAILENDRA WAGADRE APAAX AT www.obcguru.com [12]
http://www.obcguru.com/

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunbi"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunbi

HOME PAGEOBC CENTRAL GOVTOBC STATE GOVTSSCHOLARSHIPS & Q/AGUESTBOOK/
COMMENTS OBC CENTRAL GOVT CENTRAL CIRCULAR,O.M.,ORDER ABOUT OBCs •1.
GENERAL INFORMATION (PROBLEMS/SOLUTION) OBC MATTER {Hindi}

OBC CENTRAL GOVT CENTRAL CIRCULAR,O.M.,ORDER ABOUT OBCs

1. http://www.obcguru.com/uploads/OBC_GENERAL_PROBLEMS_AND_SOLUTION__HINDI__obcguru.pdf

http://www.obcguru.com/uploads/Creamy_layer_corrections_in_Rule_V___VI_on_ncbc_website.pdf
•2. PRINTING MISTAKE IN CREAMYLAYER CRITERIA ON WWW.NCBC.NIC.IN

•3. 27% OBC RESERVATION (ADMISSION): CENTRAL ACT-2006, 04.01.2007
http://education.nic.in/Acts/CEI-ResAdm-2006.pdf
•4. ACTUAL SIX RULES OF CREAMY LAYER (NOT INCOME ONLY){Hindi/Eng} •5.
27% OBC RESERVATION ORDER (RECRUITMENT): O.M. DT 08-09-1993
http://www.obcguru.com/uploads/OBC_CREAMY_LAYER_CRITERIA__NOT_ONE_06__RULE.pdf
5.http://www.obcguru.com/uploads/
27__reservation_in_recruitment___cremy_layer_OM_dt._08.09.1993.pdf
•6. CREAMY LAYER CRITERIAs (MAPDAND) 08.09.1993 {English} NCBC
http://ncbc.nic.in/html/creamylayer.html
•7. CREAMY LAYER CRITERIAs (MAPDAND) O.M. Dt. 08.09.1993{English)
(Signed COPY RECIEVED FROM MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL GoI NEW DELHI)
http://www.obcguru.com/uploads/Central_OBC_creamy_layer_criteria_dt_08.09.1993_copy_recievrd_from_DOPT.pdf
•8. CREAMY LAYER CRITERIAs (MAPDAND) 08.09.1993 {Hindi} NCBC
http://ncbc.nic.in/hindi/creamy_layer.htm
•9. CREAMY LAYER CLARIFICATIONS 14.10.2004 {English} MOP
http://persmin.gov.in/WriteData/CircularNotification/ScanDocument/36033_5_2004_01April2005.htm
•10. CREAMY LAYER CLARIFICATIONS 14.10.2004 {English} signed copy
http://www.obcguru.com/uploads/OBC_creamy_lr_clr__English__14.10.2004.pdf
•11. CREAMY LAYER CLARIFICATIONS 14.10.2004 {Hindi} signed copy
http://www.obcguru.com/uploads/OBC_creamy_lr_clr__Hindi__14.10.2004.pdf
•12. Rs. 4.5 LAKH CREAMY LAYER CLAUSE-06 REVISION 14.10.08 {English}
•13. Rs. 4.5 LAKH CREAMY LAYER CLAUSE-06 REVISION 14.10.08 {Hindi}
http://persmin.gov.in/WriteData/CircularNotification/ScanDocument/36033_3_2004-Estt%20(Res).pdf
•14. CENTRAL LIST OF OBC CASTES, STATE-WISE {English} NCBC
http://ncbc.nic.in/backward-classes/index.html
•15. CENTRAL LIST OF OBC CASTES, STATE-WISE {Hindi} NCBC
http://ncbc.nic.in/hindi/clobc.htm
•16. CENTRAL LIST OF OBCs {GAZETTE NOTIFICATIONS/RESOLUTIONS}
http://socialjustice.nic.in/gazenotif.php
•17. APPLICATION FORM TO GET OBC CASTE CRTIFICATE (PAGE-54/488)
http://persmin.gov.in/WriteData/CircularNotification/ScanDocument/Estt(Reservation)/Compendium.pdf
•18. OBC CASTE CRTIFICATE FORMAT CENTRAL {IIT JEE 2010}
http://www.jee.iitb.ac.in/reservation.htm
•19. OBC CASTE CRTIFICATE FORMAT CENTRAL {AIEEE 2008-09 OLD}
http://www.aieee.nic.in/ccb2009/OBC_Proforma.pdf
•20. COMPETENT OFFICERS TO ISSUE OBC CERTIFICATE 15.11.93 {P19}
http://www.obcguru.com/uploads/obc_OM_Order_s_Central_cremylayer_etc.pdf
•21. VALIDITY, OBC CASTE & CREAMY LAYER CERTIFICATE OM-25.07.2003
http://www.obcguru.com/uploads/OBC_CASTE_CREAMY_LAYER_VALIDITY_OM__CAT_DCISION__W07_.pdf
•22. OBC CERTIFICATES TO MIGRANTS FROM OTHER STATES 08.04.1994
http://www.obcguru.com/uploads/Migration_from_other_states_issue_of_central__OBC_cert._8.4.1994.pdf
•23. OBC CERTIFICATE FORMAT FOR MIGRANTS OF OTHER STATES(PAGE14)
http://cisf.nic.in/RECRUITMENT_files/NOTIFICATION%20%20for%20ctdr%20and%20ctdcpo%20ENGLISH.pdf
•24. OBC CERT. SHOULD BE IN PRESCRIBED FORMAT ONLY 02.09.09 {ENG}
http://www.persmin.nic.in/writedata/CircularNotification/ScanDocument/36011_3_2009-Estt.(Res.)1.pdf
•25. OBC CERT. SHOULD BE IN PRESCRIBED FORMAT ONLY 02.09.09 {HINDI}
http://www.persmin.nic.in/writedata/CircularNotification/ScanDocument/36011_3_2009-Estt.(Res.)1-H.pdf
•26. COMPENDIAM OF OBC CIRCULARS BY MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL PART-III
http://www.persmin.nic.in/writedata/CircularNotification/ScanDocument/indexForReservation.htm
•27. AGE RELAXATION (3 YEAR) FOR OBC IN RECRUITMENT 09.12.93 (P 20)
http://www.obcguru.com/uploads/obc_OM_Order_s_Central_cremylayer_etc.pdf
28. SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT ON OBC RESERVATION IN CENTRAL EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS ADMISSION 10.04.2008 & IT'S HIGHLIGHTS
http://obcreservation.net/ver2/
•29. HRD O.M.s AFTER COURT'S ORDER FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF OBC
RESERVATION IN CENTRAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 20.04.2008
http://education.nic.in/HigherEdu/OM_OBCreservation_CEIs.pdf
•30. SUPREME COURT 05.04.06- "OBCs SELECTED IN GENERAL SEATS SHALL NOT
BE COUNTED IN 27% QUOTA & WILL BE TREATED AS GENERAL CANDIDATE EVEN IF
THEY GET SEAT/SERVICE ALLOTMENT IN 27% QUOTA"
http://www.obcguru.com/uploads/obc_merit_candidates_supreme_court_dec_05042006__W07__blue.pdf
•31. OBCs SELECTED IN GENERAL....(DETAIL BY "YOUTH 4 REAL EQUALITY")
http://upsc-cse2007.blogspot.com/
•32. VEERAPPA MOILEE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF
27% OBC RESERVATION WITH ENHANCEMENT OF 54% SEATS IN CENTRAL
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
http://oversightcommittee.gov.in/ocrep.pdf
•33. ANNUAL REPORT, NATIONAL COMM. FOR BACKWARD CLASSES 2003-04
http://www.obcguru.com/uploads/annual_report_NCBC_2003-2004.pdf
•34. ANNUAL REPORT, NATIONAL COMM. FOR BACKWARD CLASSES-2007-08
http://ncbc.nic.in/annual.pdf
•35. NACHIPPAN PARLIAMENTRY COMMITTEE REPORT ON RESERVATION
http://obcreservation.net/ver2/
•36. HOW TO GET OBC STATUS IN CENTRAL (INCLUSION IN CENTRAL LIST OF
OBCs)
http://obcreservation.net/ver2/reservation-mainmenu-9/communication-mainmenu-115/131-how-to-get-reservation-in-obc-state-list-ob-obcs-rj-included-vishnoi-on-2582009.html

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or 07146277477 (Res.)

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http://www.obcguru.com/

The Kunbi (alternate names of Reddi and Desai) are a prominent
community of Karnataka. They can also be found in Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Pondicherry, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa and Maharashtra.
However, traditionally the Reddy belong to the fourth of the Hindu
Varnas, Sudra. One section of the Reddy is called Kapu which means
guardian.

The majority of the Kunbi communities are non-vegetarian, and all the
communities take rice as their staple cereals. Jowar, wheat, bajra and
ragi are the other cereals for them.

The Kunbi community have social divisions such as clans, lineage,
subcastes and sects. These social divisions regulate marital
alliances. They speak the Kannada and Telugu languages.

Among the Kunbi people, cross-cousin marriages of both types are
allowed. Widow remarriage is not permitted. Being a dominant
community, the Reddy have been primarily landlords and landholders.
Social control is regulated through traditional caste and village
councils.

The traditional occupation of most of the Reddy groups is settled
cultivation, followed by animal husbandry and labour. Both men and
women smoke a homemade cheroot (chutta) which results a high incidence
of mouth and throat cancer.

They are Hindu by faith and worship many deities. Their main festivals
are Ugadi, Akshade and Dussehra. They play bhajans and kirtans.

Alternate names: Kapu, Akutota, Desai, Dommari, Guruda, Illela,
Kuruva, Musugu, Nadi Taram, Panta, Sajjana, Renati, etc.

GeographySubmit Update:

Country: India
Continent: Asia
Region: South Asia
Persecution Rank: 26 (Only top 50 ranked, 1 = highest persecution
ranking)
10/40 Window: Yes
Population in this Country: 15,810,000
Largest States: Maharashtra (6,871,000) Gujarat (6,811,000)
Madhya Pradesh (890,000) Andhra Pradesh (834,000)
Rajasthan (460,000) Tamil Nadu (343,000)
Goa (188,000) Orissa (179,000)
Karnataka (137,000) Daman and Diu (29,000)

Total States on file: 29

PeopleSubmit Update:

People Name in Country: Kunbi
People Name General: Kunbi
Alternate People Names: Amin Atte Kunbi
Desai Kambatti
Kamma Reddiyar Kulwadi
Kurmar Kutumbika
Manuru Nagale
Nagiga Patidar
Reddi Reddy

ROP3 Code: 112706
Joshua Project People ID: 17325
Population in this Country: 15,810,000
Population all Countries: 15,824,000
Least-Reached: Yes

Ethnicity

Affinity Bloc: South Asian Peoples
People Cluster: Gujarati
People Name General: Kunbi
Ethnic Code: CNN25r
Ethnic Relationships: Affinity Bloc -> People Cluster -> Peoples
Ethnicity Tree

LanguageSubmit Update:

Primary Language: Gujarati (6,104,000 Speakers)
Language Code (16th): guj Ethnologue Listing
Language Code (14th): GJR
Secondary Languages: Marathi (5,068,000) Hindi (936,000)
Konkani, Goan (428,000) Kachchi (258,000)
Konkani (192,000) Khandesi (166,000)
Nimadi (122,000) Oriya (116,000)
Marwari (101,000) Kannada (99,000)
Ahirani (76,000) Dhanki (39,000)
Malvi (37,000) Mewari (27,000)
Saurashtra (24,000) Dhundari (19,000)
Chhattisgarhi (8,400) Shekhawati (5,700)
Kui (5,100) Bengali (4,700)
Tamil (3,100) Sindhi (2,800)
Malayalam (2,100) Tulu (1,500)
Hadothi (900) Bagheli (600)
Telugu (300) Kuvi (200)
Kanauji (100) Bhili (100)
Pengo (30) Naga, Inpui (Unknown)
Kharia (Unknown) Naga, Mao (Unknown)
Santali (Unknown) Ho (Unknown)
Urdu (Unknown)

Total Languages Spoken: 38

Kunbi of India

* Notes:

•Significant effort is made to match photos with people groups. In
most cases the photo source has identified the people group. However,
in some instances when the exact people group is not identified Joshua
Project has made educated attempts at matching. As a result some
photos may be representative of the people cluster rather than the
specific people group. Mismatches are the fault of Joshua Project, not
the photographer. Please contact us if you believe a photo is not
matched with the correct people group.
•Percentages may be printed as '0.00%' because of space limitations,
but some are slightly greater than zero.
•The exactness of the above numbers can be misleading. Numbers can
vary by several percentage points or more.
•People group population figures are now maintained as a percentage of
the national population. Click here for details.
•Joshua Project does not have specific ministry activity data
supporting each of the "Progress Indicators."
•Discrepancies may exist between "Other Progress Indicators" because
of the varying sources of information.
•Joshua Project does not know the exact content of web audio
recordings. In general they are Bible reading and teaching.
•As on-site realities are understood, barriers of acceptance may be
found in many of the larger people groups that will require multiple
distinct church planting efforts.
•This data may contain errors and needs continual correcting and
updating. Click here to send feedback.

http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rop3=112706&rog3=IN

http://navanavonmilita.wordpress.com/

navanavonmilita

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Apr 11, 2010, 8:11:56 AM4/11/10

India Ink: Sid Harth

Kolis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Koli community is an ethnic group found throughout India. Kolis
are found in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and rest of India.
In Maharashtra they are found in the coastal regions of Maharashtra.
They are also one of the original inhabitants of Greater Mumbai, which
comprises the seven islands of Bombay [1]. In Gujarat, the Koli
community is mainly located in the southern portion of the state,
particularly around the cities of Surat, Navsari and Valsad. Most are
farmers or fishers, as in Mumbai and Maharashtra.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharashtra
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andhra_Pradesh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Mumbai
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_islands_of_Bombay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navsari
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsad

In Maharashtra the Kolis almost exclusively speak Marathi language,
though some Koli communities speak a variant dialect of Marathi. The
Kolis of Mumbai are dispersed all over the city, especially along the
western coast of the city. The Kolis of Vasai are Hindu and Christian,
though both belong to the Marathi ethnic group. The community has
several subcastes , the prominent ones are Koli kolis, Mangela Kolis,
Vaity kolis, Christian Kolis, Mahadeo kolis, Suryawanshi kolis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasai
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathi_people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangela_Kolis

In 1901 the number of Kolis in all India was returned as nearly 3.75
million, but this total includes a distinct weaving caste of Kolis or
Kori in northern India.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kori_(people)

Weaving caste of Kolis or Koris in Northern India located in Rajasthan
( Mahawar koli ) ,UP , MP.Now few of them has kept Verma or Gupta as
their surname.

The estimate of Koli population in Gujarat is based on 1931
enumeration which is the last time caste based enumeration was taken
in India.

Ekveera

Kolis from around Mumbai worship the goddess Ekveera situated at the
Karla caves, Malavli, Lonavla. This goddess is worshipped the most on
Chaitra Purnima (15th day of first month in the Hindu calendar).

Koli goddess ,Ekveera Devi

Maharshi Valmik

Kolis from around Maharashtra worship the writer of Ramayana, Maharshi
Valmiki.

File:Bha.gif

History

When Bombay was a dumbbell-shaped combination of 7 islands tapering,
at the centre, to a narrow shining strand beyond which could be seen
the finest and largest natural harbour in Asia. Kolbhat, Palva Bunder,
Dongri, Mazagaon, Naigaum and Worli were among the islands the Kolis
gave their names to. Kolbhat was distorted to Colaba; Palva Bunder
became Apollo Bunder. The temple to Mumbadevi in Dongri gave rise to
the name of the city. One of the smaller islands near Colaba,
variously called Old Man's Island and Old Woman's Island, was a
distortion of the Arab name Al-Omani, given for the same fishers who
ranged as far away as the Gulf of Oman.

The development of the modern city slowly marginalised these people of
the sea. They were removed from Dongri already in 1770 by the East
India Company. This historical process of elimination eventually
pushed them to the strand near Cuffe Parade, from where they plied
their ancient trade of deep water fishing. The Backbay reclamation of
the 60's would have further marginalised them had they not approached
the courts to stay the reclamation. Now their settlements are
protected by law. The places where the koli communities places called
Koliwada. You will find these koliwadas from mumbai city to its
suburbs. There is also a railway station called Koliwada on the
central railway horbour line route whose name was replaced with Guru
Tegh Bahadur Nagar .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koliwada

In Marathi, Koli means the originally heterogeneous marginal tribe-
castes that took late in history to agriculture and were often press-
ganged for porterage in army service. The same word also means spider
and fisher, presumably because both make and use a net to catch prey.

Koli folk dance & songs

The koli community has its own distinct identity and lively dances.
The dance incorporates elements that this community is most familiar
with - sea and fishing. The dance is performed by both men and women
divided into two groups, where fishers stand in two rows holding oars
in their hands. The dancers move in unison, portraying the movement of
the rowing of a boat. Fisherwomen are in the opposite rows with their
arms linked and advancing towards men folk. The separate formation
then break up and they dance together with movements symbolizing the
waves, the breakers and rowing from cliff to cliff and casting of nets
to catch the fish.

There are many koli songs which are famous all over India. Some known
once are as follows. Aga Pori Sambhaal Dariyala Tufaan Ayalay Bhari;
Gorya wer Basali ; Me Hai Koli ; Chikna Chikna ; Dang Ding ; Lal lal
pagote ; Chandnan Chandnya ; Dirki la bombil; Maza Kombra ; Me
Dolker ; Haldin Bharlay ; Dol Doltai ; Nach go Nach ; Galyat
Sakali ; Paru go Paru ; Lai Lai Liakarni ; Gomu Tuze Dadan Go; Vadal
Wara ; Valav re Nakva ;

Koli Festivals

Narali punaw: This is “The day” for kolis. As per traditions kolis
know that after this day the wind strength and direction changes in
favor of fishing. This is the day when kolis celebrate the kick off of
new business season. This is the day when they pray to god sea and
make puja of their boats and begins their fishing season. There are
songs for this occession as..san aaila go narali punvecha...

Shimga - Shimaga means holi in koli accent haa-wa-li. Holi and Koli
goes long way. It is one of the most important Festival for Kolis.
There are many koli songs for this occession

See also

Koli Christians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koli_Christians
Koli samaj
Mahor samaj
Akhil Bhartiya Koli samaj
Mahawar koli samaj
ekveera

References

^ 7 islands of Bombay

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica,
Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

Kolis of Mumbai http://www.indiaprofile.com/lifestyle/kolis.htm
Koli Samaj of Gujarat
Koli Samaj/Koli Parivar http://www.koliparivar.com/
Koli Dance http://www.maharashtratourism.net/culture-lifestyle/dances/koli-dance.html
Koli Songs
Hit Koli Songs
More Koli Songs http://www.loksangeet.com/marathimusic/categories.php?cat_id=1
Koli geete in marathi http://indianmp3.in/?option=com_content&task=view&id=1195&Itemid=177
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolis"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolis

Kolis - A Fishy People

The Kolis-fisherfolk-of Mumbai are a distinct community. In Their
dress, their language, their food and their lifestyle they are easily
distinguishable. Especially the economically independent Koli women
who are aggressive to the point of being quarrelsome.

Blocking the exit of the ladies compartment in the local train,
dressed traditionally in their bright patterned sarees, noisily
exchanging greetings, are the fisherwomen who squat on the floor of
the train with their huge baskets of the fish. Working women hold
their neatly pleated, flowing sarees well above their ankles as they
gingerly tip-toe around them to avoid any close encounter with the
fishy kind. If you hold your nose close to the offensive smell, the
fisherwomen range in annoyance and God help you if you dare to object
to the presence of her stinking fish in the commuters compartment.
She’ll not merely threaten to douche you with fish water but I have
been witness to a wrathful fisherwoman fling a fish rather accurately
at a very well dressed young woman reducing her to tears!

Kolis, as the fisherfolk are known in Mumbai, are known to be easily
excitable. Even an ordinary conversation between them often leads to a
noisy quarrel in which abuses are easily exchanged. An exaggeration it
may be but the statement is not inaccurate, that ‘a Koli sentence
never begins without a vulgar epithet.’ Rather pleased with her
aggressive image is the kolin and in the regional Marathi language
kolin has become a synonym for an ‘abusive quarrelsome woman’. The
kolis speak a local variation of Konkani which is a dialect of
Marathi.

The Kolin’s entire position in society, her freedom of speech and
action it a result of her economic power and independence arising from
her kurga (her daily earnings). Dealing, as she has to, with all sorts
of customers at the bazaar or during her door to door sales, she
learns to quickly shed all coyness and freely interact with the men.
She provides tremendous economic stability to the family and hence
will not tolerate a bullying or wayward husband. Her financial
position makes her more than welcome with her parents.

In return for her economic power she pays rather heavily by way of
hard work. Her day begins at the break of dawn. After cooking for the
family she takes off to the wharf to buy her fish and returns home
only after the heavy load on her head is sold. At home, innumerous
chores like mending fishing nets, fish baskets and drying to fish
await her attention.

The Kolis are divided into two main occupational classes: the Dolkars
and states. The Dolkars do the actual fishing while the latter
purchase the haul wholesale. They usually set forth in boats to meet
the returning Dolkars and buy the fish. Their popular folk song Dolkar
dariyacha Raja (Dolkar, the king of the sea) underlines his supremacy.

The name Dolkar is derived from dol or dhola the large funnel shaped
net. The smaller nets are known as jal. Every Koli house comprises an
oti (verandah) which is reserved for weaving and repairing nets.
Though house patterns differ, every house has a chool (kitchen),
vathan (room) and a devghar (the worship room). Even in the poorest of
families, living in one room tenements one corner of the house is
reserved for the God. Deeply religious, even the Christian converts,
follow their original Hindu beliefs as well. The annual pilgrimage to
the shrine of Ekvira, at the Karla caves in Pune district in
undertaken by both the Hindus and the Christian Kolis. The chief Hindu
religious festivals are ‘Gauru Shimga’ and ‘Narial Poornima’. No. Koli
whatever his faith, will recommence fishing after the rainy season
without offering a coconut to the sea on Narial Poornima day.

The Hindu Kolis worship Mahadev, Hanuman and Khandoba and the
Christian Kolis worship these and images of Christ and Virgin Mary. A
few worship ancestors (Vir) and are known in the community as Virkar
in opposition to the Devkars who worship only God. The oldest members
of the family both male and female are also worshipped.

Songs from an important part of the Kolis culture. Almost every
ceremony of restival has its special song without which the ceremony
does not commence. At the beginning of every such song a stanza is
devoted to the deities. The deities are invoked andinvited to the
ceremony.

‘Gondan’ (tattooing) to is given religious significance as it is
considered a mark of recognition by God. They believe that after death
at the gates of heaven a woman is asked Godhun aali ki choruni? (Do
you bear the mark of God or are you sneaking in?).

The name Mumbai is derived from the goddess, ‘Mumba’, the patron deity
of the pre-Christian Kolis, the earliest inhabitants of the island. In
the present day the shrine of Mumbadevi, situated at the south-west
corner of the Mumbadevi tank in the very heart of the city is accorded
more reverence than perhaps any other shrine.

Various records reveal that Kolis have been found in Mumbai from early
times. Dr. Gerson da Cunha in the book ‘Origin of Mumbai’ describes
old Mumbai as ‘the desolate islet of the Mumbai Koli fishermen. The
Kolis are reported to have occupied the land in A.D. 1138.

Mumbai-Heptanesia as it was once known, comprised seven separate and
amorphous isles namely Kolaba, Old Woman’s Island, Mumbai, Mazagaon,
Sion, Worli and Mahim (all of which have now been joined by bridges
and reclamations). Records of the earlier settlements of Mumbai speak
of Koli villages in all the seven islands. Though they are completely
dwarfed by the highrise, congested apartments, Koli villages exist all
along the sea coast of Mumbai even today. Mazagaon, it is believed,
owes its name to fish, Machchagaun meaning fish-village, Kolaba means
the Koli estate.

In the matter of dress too, Kolis possess an individuality. Standing
out distinctly, even in the sea of humanity that is Mumbai, is the
koli who has not given up his or her traditional attire. The dress of
a Koli woman consists of two or three garments namely a lugat(sari), a
choli (blouse) and a parkhi (a shoulder scarf). The Christian Kolis
don’t use a parkhi and wear a typical red-checked saree with a tiny
border and use the palla of the saree to cover their shoulders. Lugat
is really the lower garment, nine yards in length in bright floral
designs. It is worn in a peculiar way so that when draped at the waist
it reaches just below the knees and is drawn up tightly between the
legs.

The men generally wear a surkha (a loin cloth). It is a square piece
of cloth, thrown diagonally in front on a string tied round the waist.
The lower end of the cloth is tightly drawn through the legs and
knotted at the back so as to cover the divided of the buttocks. A
waist-coat and close fitting cap complete the attire. When not at sea
the modern Koli wears a pair of pants and shirts.

Fond o jewellery, even their men wear armlets, bangles and earnings.
The women don’t believe in bank accounts and invest almost all their
savings in gold. They wear traditional chunky typically Koli jewellery
like the earnings patterned like the Pisces symbol (fish swimming in
opposite directions) worn by almost all of them.

Otherwise the Kolis live a very simple life. The ordinary Koli meal
consists of curry (ambat), rice, and fried fish. When at sea the men
eat dried fish and rice gruel. They make a lot of sweet dishes at the
Koli women are extremely fond of them. You only wish it would give
them a sweet-tongue!

http://www.indiaprofile.com/lifestyle/kolis.htm

About Koli Samaj:

The Koli Samaj(society) is about 20 % of the general population of
Gujarat state and 24 %
among Hindu population of Gujarat numbering around 13 millions. The
number is based on
census taken in 1931 which is the last time caste based enumeration
was taken in India.
According to sociolists (e.g. Lancy Lobo, Achyut Yagnik) percentage of
Koli population has
remained same. The Koli Samaj is spread throughout Indian
subcontinent. Click here to see
the map depecting concentration of Koli people.
http://www.kolisamaj.org/kolimap.html

This website is an attempt to gather information on Koli caste of
Gujarat state, India and
present it to Koli community to inform them of their past and present,
and promote art,
culture, higher education vis-a-vis better future.

http://www.kolisamaj.org/politics/MPkoliwinner.html
http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/900/Gujarat--Caste---Outcaste
http://www.kolisamaj.org/politics/movie.html
http://www.kolisamaj.org/politics/politics.html

Fast Fact:

The Following is the regional distribution of Koli names. Many
younger and some older Kolis are
not aware of their regional names and would simply call themselves
Kolis. Some of these names
suggest the locality they reside in and some suggest occupation while
some are high sounding
names some Koli resorted to.

South Gujarat:

Koli Patel or Talpada, Matia, Gulam, Mansarovaria
Saurashtra:

Thakarda, Patelia, Ghedia, Valankiya, Chuvalia, Talpada, Khant, Pagi,
Koli
North Gujarat:

Thakarda or Thakor, Chuvalia, Idaria
Central Gujarat:

Pardeshi, Talpada, Bariya, Bhalia, Khant, Kotwal, Pagi, Patanwadia,
Chuvalia, Debaria, Patelia,
Thakor, Rathwa

http://www.kolisamaj.org/

This is an external link to a short film titled "Gujarat: Caste and
Outcaste".
The first half of the movie is about Adivasis while the later half
talks about situation of Kolis
in Gujarat.

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/900/Gujarat--Caste---Outcaste

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fishing_communities_in_India

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Social_groups_of_Maharashtra

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Social_groups_of_Gujarat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Social_groups_of_Karnataka

Steve Hayes

unread,

Apr 11, 2010, 1:50:11 PM4/11/10

On Sun, 11 Apr 2010 05:11:56 -0700 (PDT), navanavonmilita
<navanav...@gmail.com> wrote:

>Jai Maharaj is a sad monkey

So cheer him up then.

--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

Me, ...again!

unread,

Apr 11, 2010, 6:55:03 PM4/11/10

On Sun, 11 Apr 2010, Steve Hayes wrote:

> On Sun, 11 Apr 2010 05:11:56 -0700 (PDT), navanavonmilita
> <navanav...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Jai Maharaj is a sad monkey
>
>
> So cheer him up then.

I don't think it will do any good.

navanavonmilita

unread,

Apr 12, 2010, 1:45:45 AM4/12/10

India Ink: Sid Harth

A Massacre Prompts New Debate Over India's War With Maoist Rebels
By Sumon K. Chakrabarti / Dantewada Sunday, Apr. 11, 2010

A paramilitary soldier injured by Maoist rebels is hoisted into an
ambulance in Jagdalpur, India.
TV9 / AP

The undulating hills and thick vegetation of Dandakaranya forest —
nearly 50,000 square kilometers of jungle straddling parts of central
Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and the southern state of
Andhra Pradesh — has for decades been a forsaken, off-the-map region
frequented only by corporate India looking to make a killing from the
iron ore reserves of the land. Indeed, for close to 10 years now, the
area has remained off limits for the Indian government and its
agencies, including the police and the military. It is one of the few
pockets of India that has not been topographically surveyed. No good
maps exist of the region. The only "government" the tribal people of
these forests are acquainted with is provided by a fearsome band of
insurgents: "Janatana Sarkar," the people's government run by the
guerrillas of the Communist Party of India-Maoists (CPI-Maoists), for
whom most of the forest is a de facto military headquarters.

(See how India is stepping up its fight against the Maoists.)
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1940559,00.html

But just weeks ago, New Delhi decided to challenge the rebels who
carry Mao Zedong's name and who are waging the bloodiest insurgency
India has ever seen. The government announced that 50,000 paramilitary
troops would be part of Operation Greenhunt, with tough-talking Home
Minister of India, Palaniappan Chidambaram, promising to "wipe off the
Maoist movement in the next two-three years." As part of this
campaign, police and para-military forces last week engaged in a four-
day "area domination" exercise near the village of Datewada in the
Dandakaranya forest. But the Maoists were not about to let this
incursion into their territory pass with impunity.

The 80 members of the government's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
were taking a break on April 6 at around 6 a.m. after traveling all
night, when they were ambushed by what some officials estimate to be
400 Maoists positioned on a neighboring hilltop. The Maoists executed
their attack with fierce precision, giving the soldiers no chance to
react. They blew up an anti-landmine vehicle and then began firing
indiscriminately. The shocked and exhausted soldiers, who had not been
able to follow standard procedures like checking the road for
landmines ahead of time, were massacred within minutes. The guerrillas
— both men and women — then took away AK-47 and Insas rifles, the
mortars, magazines of ammunition and bullet-proof jackets from their
victims. Of the 80 Indian troops on exercise, 76 were killed.

While admitting that it lost eight fighters in the three-hour long
attack, the Maoist spokesman justified the massacre in a three-page
faxed statement, saying: "The CRPF battalion deployed in [in
Chattisgarh] were killing innocent people, burning villages, raping
women and displacing... people. We also wanted to take revenge of
killing of our top leaders..."

(See how India's schools have been caught in the cross-fire in the
fight against the Maoists.)

It has been the most significant government setback in the undeclared
war between the two Indias. The Maoists thrive in the 'other' India —
the India which is impoverished, left behind as one-fifth of the
country's populace has begun to thrive, while the other 800 million
suffer with growing resentment from chronic poverty, live without
electricity, roads, hospitals, proper sanitation or clean water — the
classic breeding ground for left-wing extremist violence. As Mao
himself prescribed in 1927, "It's necessary to bring about a brief
reign of terror in every rural area... To right a wrong it is
necessary to exceed the proper limit." Naxalism, as Indian Maoism is
also called — after a village named Naxalbari at the movement's
origins — has rapidly outstripped the insurgencies in Jammu & Kashmir
and North-East India. Maoists have a presence in at least 16 of
India's 28 states, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described
Naxalism as the "biggest internal security challenge" that faces the
country.

India today is groping for answers on how to respond to the Maoist
attack. Chidambaram's strategy had appeared to be working. Many top
Maoist leaders, including Politburo members, had been arrested; the
Maoists had indeed offered to negotiate. Their chief military officer,
Kishanji — nom de guerre of Mallojula Koteswara Rao — even gave out
his cellphone number to Chidambaram to facilitate talks. "But actually
they were retreating so that they can regroup. This is how the Maoists
always operate. But still we have not learnt anything," says K. P. S.
Gill, formerly one of India's top police officers, who had advised the
Chattisgarh government in a previous anti-Maoist operation.

Privately, many senior leaders in the ruling Congress party had
complained to their party president Sonia Gandhi that Home Minister
Chidambaram had used unnecessarily provocative language when talking
about the Maoists. But Prime Minister Singh refused to accept
Chidambaram's offer to resign after the massacre. With the central
government still debating how to deal with the Maoists, there is
confusion on the ground about how to tackle the insurgency. K.P.S.
Gill says it's now time to rethink the entire strategy and criticizes
Chidambaram for giving the go ahead to a "flawed operation."

(See pictures of India's turning points.)
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1649065,00.html

Those in India who perceive Chidambaram to be a "warmonger" argue that
growing social disparities thrown up by India's economic growth have
been a major factor behind the rebels' expansion. They say the
government needs to provide a more equitable distribution of its
growing wealth. "Let's not forget the killing of more than a hundred
tribal villagers by the security forces since June 2009 ... It's time
the nation starts to work towards ceasefire and cessation of
hostilities so as to help initiate dialogue with the Maoists, and to
address the real issues affecting the people like forced corporate or
state acquisition of land, displacement, tribal rights and the lack of
governance," says Dr. Ranabir Samaddar, Director of Calcutta Research
Group.

Meanwhile, India's Armed Forces are not anxious to join the fight. The
new Indian army chief General V. K. Singh has blamed the lack of
training and tactics in jungle warfare as well as command and control
for the loss of the 76 troopers. He ruled out any role of the military
— that is, the security forces of India's federal government — in the
ongoing operation. "The Naxalite problem is a law and order problem,
which is a state subject. It stems from certain issues on the ground,
be it of governance, be it of administration, be it of socio-economic
factors. And since it is not a secessionist movement, I think our
polity is astute and wise enough to know the implications of using the
Army against their own people." The chief of the Indian Air Force, Air
Marshal P V Naik also expressed his unwillingness to use the Air Force
and its unmanned drones in ongoing anti-Maoist operations. "Unless we
are 120% sure that the Naxals are the country's enemies, it will not
be fair to use the Air Force within our borders."

The Director General of Police of Chattisgarh Vishwa Ranjan admits
that "the [paramilitary] forces need to be trained specifically for
this, which unfortunately we don't do. It's time all of us sit up and
act," he says. Still, he insists he is "prepared to take casualties."
He told TIME: "We are in a war. And no war is won without people
dying."

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1981122,00.html?xid=rss-world

India Steps Up Its Fight Against Naxalites
By Jessica Bachman / Kanker Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

Indian officers patrol a forest around their base on the edge of rebel-
controlled territory in Chhattisgarh in October 2009

Keith Bedford / The New York Times / Redux

Late-night digging along the back roads of Bastar, a dense jungle
region in India's northern state of Chhattisgarh, can only mean one
thing if there's nothing to show for it the next day: Maoist rebel
activity. So when a group of villagers in the state's Kanker district,
the gateway to Bastar, were kept awake for nights on end last month by
repeated chinking from metal striking rock on a nearby road, they knew
something was up.

They were right. The Maoists, commonly known in India as Naxalites,
had dug a tunnel five feet under the surface of a paved back road that
was used by security forces from the nearby Counter-Terrorism and
Jungle Warfare College. The insurgents' tunnel's exit points, on the
side of the road, were well concealed with alternating layers of
sandbags and dirt. But before the Naxalites got around to booby-
trapping the underground tunnel with improvised explosives cobbled
together from scavenged pieces of iron and heisted explosive materials
from state-owned mines, it had been filled in. The villagers had
tipped off commandos from the college.

Naxalite rebels, whose leaders claim to follow Maoist doctrine on
armed people's struggle, have been waging a guerilla war against the
Indian government since their first uprising in the West Bengal
village of Naxalbari in 1967. For over three decades a phlegmatic
response from central and state security organs did little to prevent
the then isolated Naxal insurgency from foraying into underdeveloped
forest and jungle regions in central and eastern India where it gained
support of impoverished tribal groups and villagers. By 2001, some
Naxalites had gained sway over 51 districts, and with the state
response mechanism to their movements still weak, that number
quadrupled in less than a decade. Naxals now operate in 223 districts,
spread out over one-third of India along a vertical belt commonly
referred to as the Red Corridor.

In the 34 regions that the government considers to be the worst
affected by Maoist activity, the rebel movement has taken on a
particularly bloody dimension, with Naxalites orchestrating police
massacres, bombings, bank and mine robberies, informant murders and
kidnappings on a routine basis. By Nov. 2, "left-wing extremism" —
Delhi's euphemism for Naxal terrorism — was responsible for 834
civilian, security-force and Naxal deaths throughout 10 states this
year, according to data collected by the South Asia Terrorism Portal.

As in previous years, Chhattisgarh took the biggest hit, sustaining
237 casualties. While last month's brazen attempt in the state to
attack India's only anti-Naxal police training camp reveals how low
the insurgents' perception is of the state's ability to fight them, it
also, says the college's director, gives the institution further
insight into how to fight this battle. "I've always told our men that
they can't win the war against the Naxals without gaining the trust of
the villagers and forest dwellers," says Brigadier Basant Ponwar, who
served in the army for 35 years as a counterinsurgency specialist
before going to Chhattisgarh in 2005 to set up the college. "Now we
see that even right in our own backyard the villagers are our eyes and
ears."

Tucked away on 300 acres of hilly jungle terrain, just north of a
notorious Naxal stronghold, the college is strategically positioned to
drill police forces in a strategy that until recently was reserved for
training select army special forces: fight a guerilla like a guerilla.
"Police are trained for carrying out normal law-and-order duties.
They're not prepared for jungle combat or jungle living, but that's
precisely what they must know to take on Naxals," explains the state's
director general of police, Vishwa Ranjan. For decades the state had
dismissed the Naxal movement's creeping ascendancy over its southern
districts and did little to buttress the strength of its security
force. This year, the state's sanctioned police force stands at
46,000, more than double the number of officers on the ground in 2005,
and all new recruits are being put through the college course in
addition to basic training.

The college has already taught 11,500 police personnel from eight
states how to raid Naxal hideouts, conduct search-and-destroy
operations at gun-manufacturing camps, clear roads of improvised
explosives using sniffer dogs, set up roadside checkpoints and set up
covert outposts in enemy territory. During the 45-day course,
commandos-in-training get up at dawn for early morning conditioning,
including three-mile runs up steep, rocky knobs plus strength
training, yoga and meditation. (Ponwar insists that all officers who
still have a paunch by the end of the course are failed.) To dispel
officers' fear of the jungle, the forces are taught how to catch (and
eat) snakes, distinguish edible plants from poisonous ones and make
camouflaged lean-tos out of sticks and leaves.

The college has been a bright spot in India's fight against the bloody
insurgency. But Ajai Sahni, the executive director of the New Delhi–
based Institute of Conflict Management, says that the high level of
corruption and inefficiency in the state security apparatus cancels
out whatever inroads the school has made. "Only a fraction of those
that go through the college's training are later used for what they
are being trained for, so the effort is often for naught," Sahni
laments, comparing the police commandos to students trained in
neurosurgery who go on to become store clerks. Only half of the
college's graduates from Chhattisgarh are deployed in areas with
substantial Maoist activity and, according to Sahni, police corruption
and grasping politicians are to blame. "It's a well-known fact that if
a police officer doesn't want to be deployed to dangerous district, he
bribes his way out," he says. "Many of the warfare college's commandos
are also scooped up by VIP ministers and politicians who want to be
surrounded by impressive security details."

Meanwhile, national efforts to bring this decades-long insurgency to a
swift end are also intensifying. India's new hard-line Home Minister,
P. Chidambaram, is not convinced that states, if left to their own
devices, will be able to reassert state authority over Naxal-dominated
territories anytime soon. That's why this month, tens of thousands of
paramilitary and border security forces were withdrawn from other
regions and deployed in rebel districts in northern and central India.
"Our newest strategy is to win complete control over small areas under
Maoist influence, hold them, and not withdraw forces until development
in the area is well under way," says director general of police Vishwa
Ranjan. "We will repeat this pattern in other areas, a few at a time,
until the enemy has nowhere to go. "

Still, considering it's taken four decades to get to this point, the
process is bound to be a gradual one. In recent years, the state's
action plan was to establish a minimum police presence in all Naxal
regions, and little attention was paid to increasing the size of the
ranks or improving the meager force's fighting abilities. But without
strength in numbers or combat skills, the police have been unable to
curb the spread of Maoist violence and defend the state's isolated
police outposts. At the Indian Economic Summit in New Delhi on Nov.
10, Chidambaram said all heavily affected states would completely
reassert control over their Naxal-dominated areas within two or three
years. Director general of police Ranjan thinks four years is a more
realistic time frame. "We're not taking any more shortcuts," Ranjan
says. "This is going to be a long, drawn-out battle."

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1940559,00.html

India's Secret War
By Simon Robinson/Southern Chhattisgarh Thursday, May. 29, 2008

ENLARGE PHOTO+
Armed and Dangerous

Maoist Naxalite rebels go through training exercises in the woods of
Chhattisgarh, a central Indian state at the heart of the insurgency

Photograph for TIME by Adam Ferguson

The news came crackling over the radio, the voice fading in and out as
the sound waves bounced through the wooded hills and valleys of
central India to the camp where the militants — and a TIME
photographer and myself — lay down to sleep. Earlier that day in May,
a raiding gang of some 300 Maoist insurgents had attacked a plant
belonging to Indian steel giant Essar, the radio news program
declared. More than 50 trucks and pieces of heavy machinery had been
destroyed. The commander of the unit in the camp that night, Deva, a
boyish-looking man of just 24 or 25 (he wasn't quite sure), allowed a
smile to spread across his face for a moment. His comrades-in-arms
against the government of India and the companies that drive its
booming economy had struck again. That, he said, should answer my
question about whether the Maoist insurgents went easy on some mining
companies in the area so as to force them to pay protection money and
bribes instead. "If the public wants to teach a lesson to Essar, then
we'll teach them a lesson," said Deva.

You've heard of rich India and poor India, a land of high-tech workers
and slum dwellers alike. This is a story about a third India that
exists at the nexus of the two, which feeds off the excesses of the
country's new wealth and preys on its most vulnerable. It is the story
of the Naxalites, a Maoist insurgency that has grown from the margins
four decades ago to become, in the words of Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, "the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by
our country." It is a tale of ideology and mafia-like thuggery, a
conflict born in a vacuum of government inaction, and fueled by
official mismanagement and corruption. And it is the story of the
millions caught in between.

A Turn to the Left India is no stranger to violent rebellion, as the
decades-long struggle in Kashmir attests. But the separatist conflict
there and low-level insurgencies in the country's remote northeast
grind on at the periphery, driven by groups agitating to break away.
The Maoists, like their ideological brothers in Nepal who recently
took power through elections, are different. They want to overthrow
the government in New Delhi and install a new one, and they have taken
their fight to the geographic heart of the country, to the scrubby
woodland and remote, poor villages that blanket a huge chunk of
central India. The would-be revolutionaries trace their roots back to
1967, when a group of activists split away from India's mainstream
Communist Party and initiated a peasant uprising in the West Bengal
village of Naxalbari. The Naxalite movement grew quickly and attracted
landless laborers and student intellectuals, but a government
crackdown in the 1970s broke the group into myriad feuding factions.
By the 1990s, as India began to liberalize its economy and economic
growth took off, violent revolution seemed more quaint relic than
threat.

No longer. The Naxalite resurgence began in 2004 when the two biggest
splinters of the original movement — one Marxist and one Maoist — set
aside their differences and joined to form the Communist Party of
India (Maoist). The combined force — which Indian government security
officials and independent analysts now estimate at between 10,000 and
20,000 armed fighters plus at least 50,000 active supporters — has
quickly consolidated power across great swathes of India's poorest
regions. The central government, which lists the Naxalites as a banned
terrorist group, says that 11 of India's 28 states are now affected in
one way or another by the insurgency. Nongovernment organizations put
the number of affected states even higher. The rebels tax local
villagers, extort payments from businesses, abduct and kill "class
enemies" such as government officials and police officers, and stop
aid getting through to people caught in the cross fire.

The militia's strikes have grown more daring. In March last year, some
400 Naxalites surrounded a police camp in southern Chhattisgarh, lit
the camp up using powerful lights and generators and lobbed grenades
and petrol bombs for more than three hours, killing 55 people. Last
December, in the same area, a single Maoist overpowered a jail guard
and set free 294 inmates, including 15 senior Naxalite fighters. In
February this year, more than 100 insurgents laid siege to three
police stations, a police outpost, a police training school and a
government armory in the state of Orissa, killing 13 policemen and a
bystander and hauling off hundreds of rifles, semiautomatics, light
machine guns, pistols and ammunition. Not a single Maoist was killed.
Include government security forces, civilians and the Naxalites
themselves, and the conflict killed 837 people in 2007, enough to make
it deadlier than the Kashmir conflict for the first time ever. "It's
absolutely a growing threat," says Ajai Sahni, executive director of
the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi and a keen observer
of the re-emergence of the Naxalites. "You can't escape that fact."

Ripe for Revolution A recent — and extremely rare — trip into a
Naxalite zone in the state of Chhattisgarh shows just how much control
the Maoists have in India's neglected heartland. After weeks of
negotiating, I received word from a senior commander there that cadres
from the area would escort a photographer and me into the field to
meet a rebel unit. After an early morning, two-hour motorbike ride
along dirt roads south of the town of Dantewada, across rivers where
women beat their clothes against rocks and through villages full of
thatched and terracotta-roofed huts, scrawny chickens and children
with distended bellies (a classic sign of malnutrition), we set off by
foot deep into the forested hills.

The people there don't just live on the edge of Indian society — they
live beyond it, in a void that successive governments in New Delhi
have neglected for decades. In this part of the country, far removed
from the famed call centers of modern India, there are no roads, no
power, no running water, no telephones and no officials to answer
pleas for help.

The inhabitants of these villages are known as Adivasis, or "original
dwellers." Most Indians call them tribals, a category that doesn't
even register in India's complicated caste pecking order but stands
outside it. The British colonial rulers treated Adivasis as
encroachers on the very land they had occupied for generations, a
legal absurdity that India's current government has only recently
corrected. Adivasis are entitled to reserved places in universities
and government jobs but they remain among India's poorest and most
marginalized. In village after village on our journey, the only
visible sign of a government presence was an occasional well with
metal hand pump.

Born in the hills he now fights from, Deva — he gave just one name —
is an Adavasi like most of the insurgency's foot soldiers. Naxalite
commanders have historically come from the movement's educated ranks
and often speak English. Deva speaks only Gondi, a local tongue. If he
has a second language it is the strange, religious-like discipline of
Maoism. Our conversations were punctuated with long silences as he
turned questions over in his head before answering them, often with a
slogan or a long monologue that sounded torn from the small collection
of books and newspapers that his unit read and reread and then teach
to local villagers. He began learning Maoism at eight, he said. Two of
his five siblings are also Maoist fighters. They had a good childhood,
helping their father farm rice and hunt in the forests. There was no
school in his village and so he and his siblings attended classes
given by rebel soldiers who had moved into the area. What they taught
made perfect sense to him. "For thousands of years we have been here
but we don't have rights and the government does nothing for us: no
health, no education, no services. They don't come here," Deva said.
"At the same time they don't respect us. They say they can give out
rights to this land to mining companies and they have the power to do
that. We say, No."

There's no denying the insurgency has prospered in areas of official
neglect. In a paper he presented to Parliament two years ago, Home
Minister Shivraj Patil said that "Naxalites operate in [a] vacuum
created by [an] absence of administrative and political institutions."
The Naxalites, Patil said, "take advantage of the disenchantment
prevalent among the exploited segments of the population" to "offer an
alternative system of governance which promises emancipation ...
through the barrel of a gun."

Domestic Violence That textbook description of how an insurgency works
was on show in the village we visited — a small collection of huts
Deva and his unit of 130 men and women use as an occasional base as
they constantly shift around the hills. There, as elsewhere, the
Naxalites run a parallel administration, complete with tax collectors,
a school and very basic health facilities. Late in the afternoon,
seven women militants dressed in tunics and red sashes danced and sang
for gathered villagers, preaching the benefits of Maoism, railing
against exploitative mining companies and chanting about the evils of
New Delhi. Dozens of young kids listened intently. In a mock training
drill put on for the visiting reporters, the same kids watched
uniformed insurgents practice creeping through thick jungle and assume
various attack positions. "Our prime mission is to awake the public
and then revolution will happen automatically," a squad commander
named Bhima told me.

But Maoism's methods are no gentle wake-up call. India's Naxalites
have taken to heart Mao Zedong's maxim that "the seizure of power by
armed force, the settlement of the issue by war, is the central task
and the highest form of revolution," killing and abducting enemies and
using coercion and force to win support among the very same villagers
they claim to be liberating. To protest state "exploitation," the
Maoists regularly order farmers in their regions to stop growing food
or to raise the sale prices for certain items. Farmers who defy such
bans have been summarily executed, say human-rights groups such as the
Chhattisgarh-based Forum for Fact-Finding Documentation and Advocacy.

Naxalites also regularly terrorize village folk and warn them not to
move to government-controlled areas. On our trip into the hinterland
it was impossible to ask villagers whether they were happy with the
Maoist presence or not. But a few days earlier, in a camp for people
displaced by the conflict about 20 miles away, Miriyam Joga, 41, could
barely contain his rage. A relatively successful farmer, Joga had
owned a few dozen goats and 27 oxen in the southern Chhattisgarh
village of Punpalli until a Naxalite raid three years ago. "They said
if I leave my village then they will cut me like this," he said,
tilting his head back and drawing his finger across his throat. "But I
was feeling that they might murder me anyway so I left. They took my
animals and now I have nothing."

The Battle to Fight Back To boost the numbers and quality of new
recruits and to rearm and retrain existing police officers, New Delhi
has massively increased funding over the past few years. But much of
this money — 45% last year — goes unspent and coordination between
state police and the better-equipped and better-trained paramilitary
units sent by the central government to help in the worst-hit areas is
weak. "Often, our forces are not even called out [by the state
police]," complains A. P. Maheshwari, inspector general of operations
for the Central Reserve Police Force in New Delhi. (India's Home
Minister agreed to be interviewed for this story but repeatedly
canceled appointments with TIME.)

The central government has begun training state police in jungle
warfare at a new college in Chhattisgarh. More than 6,500 police
officers have learned better shooting skills, how to move in thick
forest, how to survive on bush food and how to take on enemy fighters
in hand-to-hand combat. But the flamboyant head of the college,
Brigadier B.K. Ponwar says that no matter how much police officers
improve their skills, the key remains winning the support of the
masses. "Look at Iraq," he says. "I tell my students that their most
important objective is to win people's hearts."

That would be easier if not for the emergence in Chhattisgarh three
years ago of a civil militia known as Salwa Judum, which means either
"peace mission" or "collective hunt" depending on who's doing the
translating. The movement's backers say it developed spontaneously
when local villagers grew tired of the Naxalites' brutal mafia-like
tactics. Chhattisgarh police then appointed thousands of young men,
some of them still teenagers, as "special police officers," supplied
them with weapons and pushed them to fight the Maoists. Human-rights
groups say the special police officers use many of the same tactics as
the Naxalites, including extrajudicial killings. The Salwa Judum
movement has also forced at least 60,000 people out of their villages
(to prevent the Naxalites from recruiting them) and into temporary
camps: sad, cramped settlements that are quickly taking on the air of
permanence.

The Salwa Judum movement has worsened the situation, draining the
countryside of potential informants and convincing thousands of people
that the Indian state really is as bad as the Naxalites say it is. A
central government committee has recommended closing the camps and
disarming the special police officers, whom India's Supreme Court
recently termed illegal. Salwa Judum supporters say the criticism is
proof of how widespread sympathy for the Naxalites is. "Should we stop
fighting terrorism?" asks Chhattisgarh opposition leader Mahendra
Karma, a member of the Congress Party and a strong backer of the
militia. "Even [Mahatma] Gandhi had his dissenters, and Salwa Judum,
which is a peaceful movement, is facing attacks by those motivated by
political ideology."

Government security officials and independent observers say the
Naxalites have begun to reorganize along more formal military lines.
The rebels still use bows and arrows, knives and ancient rifles, but
have begun to stock up on machine guns, land mines and mortars, and
are building increasingly sophisticated roadside bombs. Based on
documents seized in the past year, Indian intelligence agencies
estimate that Naxalite Inc. now has an annual budget of $250 million,
much of which comes from extorting road contractors and mining
companies, and from taxing hundreds of thousands of poor villagers.
That money, analysts say, is funding the Maoists' efforts to improve
their reach into — and ability to strike — urban areas.

Class war is still an unlikely dream, however. Yes, Maoist rebels
recently won power in neighboring Nepal. But the Indian state is more
powerful and sophisticated than Nepal's defeated monarchy. (The rise
of Nepal's Maoists has actually split opinion among their Indian
brothers: some believe that the Nepalese group sold out by
participating in elections, while others argue it is a legitimate
tactical move toward revolution.) And in India's rowdy democracy, the
entire political spectrum from far right to the mainstream Communist
Party of India have called for the Maoists to be destroyed.

Until that happens, the Maoists will continue to bleed India. "We want
every person in India to have equal rights and the Maoist flag flying
in New Delhi," Deva told me in his camp, a small group of cadres
gathered around him, nodding as he spoke. How long will that take? I
asked. A few of his men giggled. "We cannot say," Deva replied. "But
in our life we will do whatever is possible." It is a sentiment that
captures both the enormity of the Maoists' aims and the huge challenge
New Delhi faces in the years ahead.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1810169,00.html

Fearing CRPF backlash, villagers abandon homes for forests
Aman Sethi

Security forces killed my brother, says villager
— Photo: Aman Sethi

GHOST VILLAGE:Mukram village in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, wears a
deserted look on Sunday. Its residents, fearing police retribution for
the massacre of 76 CRPF men by Maoists on April 6, have fled to the
forests.

Mukram: All the houses in this village in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, are
locked. Cows, chickens and the odd pig roam the empty pathways in
search of water and shade. Since the April 6 massacre of 76 CRPF
personnel by Maoists in an open field about two kilometres away, the
villagers have moved into the forests. They return only for a few
hours a day to tend to their animals and the Mahua trees.

“Everyone is terrified that the police will take revenge by attacking
the village,” said a villager who came out of the forest to check on
his house, “They have already killed one person.”

A small village of about 50 houses, Mukram is of great significance in
the context of the April 6 Maoist attack. CRPF soldiers and villagers
confirmed that the patrol party of 82 men ate dinner here on the night
of April 5, a few hours before it was attacked.

CRPF soldiers interviewed by The Hindu are convinced that the
villagers tipped the Maoists off about the location of the force. “If
they hadn't stopped at that village, this would never have happened,”
said a soldier who was part of a reinforcement party sent from
Chintalnar.

A Maoist statement soon after the attack praised Rukhmati, a Maoist
section commander from Mukram, who was killed in the attack. However,
villagers insisted they had nothing to do with Tuesday's ambush. “We
knew nothing of the attack or of Rukhmati,” said a villager.

“A large group of policemen from Chintalnar camp came to our village
the day after the incident,” said Kunjam Mangadu. “We all ran into the
forests. But when we returned, we couldn't find my elder brother,
Kunjam Suklu.”

Villagers said their search for him ended the second day with the
discovery of his corpse in a field just adjacent to the massacre spot.
They cremated his body on Saturday.

The Chhattisgarh police and CRPF denied these allegations. “No such
incident has occurred,” said a senior CRPF officer based in Bastar.
“It is possible the villagers are pointing to the body of a Maoist
killed in Tuesday's encounter.”

However, villagers said Suklu's body bore no bullet marks. Kunjam
Mangadu said his brother was beaten to death. “He had been beaten so
badly that the skin was peeling off his arms.”

“We have received no information regarding the incident,” said Amresh
Mishra, Superintendent of Police, Dantewada. “No one has approached us
with any complaints.”

According to villagers and soldiers interviewed in Mukram and
Chintalnar, adivasi villages in a 10-kilometre radius of the
Chintalnar CRPF camp too have been abandoned.

On Saturday, Chintalnar village bore a deserted look as well.
“Chintalnar has the biggest bazaar in the area,” said a resident.
“Usually thousands of adivasis from more than 10 villages come for the
bazaar. Today is market day but no adivasi has come. Not one.”

http://www.thehindu.com/2010/04/12/stories/2010041260870100.htm

Probe into massacre begins

RAIPUR/JAGDALPUR: A one-man commission of inquiry to probe the April 6
massacre of 76 CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh by Maoists has begun its
investigation, even as a manhunt is on to nab those who planned the
ambush.

E.N. Rammohan, former BSF chief, has started collecting information
such as the command structure and hierarchy, the decision on the
operation and the quality of training given to the CRPF men. He would
also probe whether they followed the Standard Operating Procedures,
informed sources said adding the Commission would submit a report on
April 24.

The CRPF on Sunday deployed commandos of the Special Armed Force in
the Naxal-infested forests of Dantewada. — PTI

http://www.thehindu.com/2010/04/12/stories/2010041261090100.htm

Maoist death squads executed dozens around Lalgarh
Praveen Swami

Killing campaign focused on eliminating CPI(M) activists and other
political opponents

JHARGRAM: Little pieces of glass still lie embedded in dry earth next
to the cot where Abhijit Mahato fell.

On the morning he was executed as an enemy of the people, Mahato had
been drinking a cup of tea at the end of an eight-hour night shift
guarding trucks parked along the Kharagpur-Ranchi highway — the job
that paid for the college classes he would have made his way to an
hour later.

But then, six men arrived on motorcycles at the truck-stop, carrying
automatic rifles. They announced to bystanders that Abhijit Mahato and
his friends, Anil Mahato and Niladhar Mahato, were members of the
Communist Party of India (Marxist). The punishment for this crime, the
men announced, was death.

The June 17 murder of Abhijit Mahato and his friends didn’t make it to
the national press — or draw the attention of the growing numbers of
human rights activists, who have arrived in West Medinipur district to
investigate the ongoing confrontation between the West Bengal
government and Communist Party of India (Maoist) operatives in
Lalgarh. But the killings — and dozens like it — are key to
understanding the still-unfolding crisis.

District police records show that 111 West Medinipur residents have
been killed by Maoist death squads since 2002. Most of the killings
were concentrated in the twin blocks of Binpur and adjoining Salboni —
the heartland of the Lalgarh violence.

Seventy four of the dead were targeted because they were cadre or
supporters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Twenty-three of
the victims were police personnel; five were adivasis community
elders; one belonged to the Congress; another was a former Maoist who
had left the movement in disgust. Seventeen CPI(M) workers have been
executed by Maoists since November alone.

It is instructive to compare the murders in West Medinipur with those
in India’s most violent State — Jammu and Kashmir. In the years from
2003, Jammu and Kashmir Police records show, 71 political activists
from all political parties have been killed by jihadists. More lives
have been lost in attacks by Maoist death squads by one single party
in one single district of West Bengal.

The data also shows the contest has been uneven: not one Maoist
operative has been shot dead in West Medinipur until police moved into
Lalgarh last week, either by the state or their political opponents.

Most of those killed by the Maoist death squads come from the ranks of
the rural poor; many of them from the same adivasi communities whose
name the Maoists have invoked to legitimise terrorism in Lalgarh.

The only son of his widowed mother, and one of five children, Abhijit
Mahato was the first member of his extended family to succeed in
gaining admission to a college degree. In photographs his mother,
Savita Mahato, recently had taken at a local studio, to be shown to
the families of prospective brides, Mahato can be seen posing against
a movie set-like backdrop.

“I cannot understand”, Savita Mahato says, “what kinds of people would
kill a boy who did them not the slightest harm”.

Many others have died in similar circumstances. Karamchand Singh, a
noted chhau-dance performer, was executed in front of his primary
school students at Binpur last year. His crime was to have campaigned
for the CPI(M) despite Maoist warnings to dissociate himself from the
party. Pelaram Tudu, a locally renowned football player who supported
the CPI(M), was shot dead in another death-squad attack. So, too, was
Kartik Hansda, a folk artist.

Honiran Murmu, a doctor working in the Laboni area, was killed along
with staff nurse Bharati Majhi and driver Bapsi in October, after an
improvised explosive device went off under their car. No explanation
was offered by Maoists for the attack, why the vehicle was targeted,
but Laboni residents say the attack was intended to punish Mr. Misir
for renting out vehicles to the police.

In May, Maoists executed Haripada Mahato as he was bathing in a pond
outside his home in the village of Bhumi Dhansola. A former activist
with the Maoist-affiliated Kisan Mazdoor Samiti, Haripada Mahato had
left the movement in disgust a decade ago. He had since then worked as
a night watchman and polio-immunisation campaign volunteer at the
Medinipur Medical College.

“The Maoists said he was an informer for the police”, says Haripada
Mahato’s wife, Padmavati Mahato, “and we swore he wasn’t. But who can
win an argument with a gun?”

navanavonmilita

unread,

Apr 12, 2010, 7:55:05 AM4/12/10

His Master's Voice: Sid Harth

His Master's Voice

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Parent company EMI
Founded 1908

Status defunct (fate: trade mark sold to HMV Group)

Genre Various
Country of origin United Kingdom

His Master's Voice is a famous trademark in the music business, and
for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was
coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening
to a wind-up gramophone. In the photograph on which the painting was
based, the dog was listening to a cylinder phonograph.

Origins

The famous trademark image comes from a painting by English artist
Francis Barraud, A.R.A. and titled His Master's Voice. The original
title of the painting was "His Late Master's Voice" (and this phrase
appears on many of the original RCA Victor labels), but the concept
was considered too depressing for most of the public's tastes, and
certainly for an image used as a means to put the consumer in the mood
to buy. It was acquired from the artist in 1899 by the newly-formed
Gramophone Company. According to contemporary Gramophone Company
publicity material, the dog, a fox terrier called Nipper, had
originally belonged to Barraud's brother Mark. When Mark Barraud died,
Francis inherited Nipper, along with a cylinder phonograph and a
number of recordings of Mark's voice. Francis noted the peculiar
interest that the dog took in the recorded voice of his late master
emanating from the trumpet, and conceived the idea of committing the
scene to canvas.

In early 1899, Francis Barraud applied for copyright of the original
painting using the descriptive working title Dog looking at and
listening to a Phonograph. He was unable to sell the work to any
cylinder phonograph company, but The Gramophone Company purchased it
later that year, under the condition that Barraud modify it to show
one of their disc machines. The image was first used on the company's
publicity material in 1900, and additional copies were subsequently
commissioned from the artist for various corporate purposes.[1]

Later, at the request of the gramophone's inventor Emile Berliner, the
American rights to the picture became owned by the Victor Talking
Machine Company. Victor used the image more aggressively than its UK
partner, and from 1902 on all Victor records had a simplified drawing
of the dog and gramophone from Barraud's painting on their label.
Magazine advertisements urged record buyers to "Look for the dog".

The Gramophone Company becomes "His Master's Voice"

A colored vinyl single released by HMVIn Commonwealth countries, the
Gramophone Company did not use this design on its record labels until
1909. The following year the Gramophone Company replaced the Recording
Angel trademark in the upper half of the record labels by the famous
picture painted by Frances Barraud, commonly referred to as Nipper or
The Dog.

The company was not formally called "HMV" or His Master's Voice, but
was identified by that term because of its use of the trademark.
Records issued by the Company before February 1908 were generally
referred to as "G&Ts", while those after that date are usually called
"HMV" records.

This image continued to be used as a trademark by Victor in the USA,
Canada and Latin America, and then by Victor's successor RCA. In
Commonwealth countries (except Canada) it was used by subsidiaries of
the Gramophone Company, which ultimately became part of EMI.

The trademark's ownership is divided among different companies in
different countries, reducing its value in the globalised music
market. The name HMV is used by a chain of music shops owned by HMV
Group plc, mainly in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, Australia,
Hong Kong, and Japan.

In 1921 the Gramophone Company opened the first HMV shop in London. In
1929 RCA bought Victor, and with it a major shareholding in the
Gramophone Company which Victor had owned since 1920.

In 1931 RCA was instrumental in the creation of EMI, which continued
to own the "His Master's Voice" name and image in the UK. In 1935 RCA
sold its stake in EMI but continued to own Victor and the rights to
His Master's Voice in the Americas.[citation needed] HMV continued to
distribute RCA recordings until RCA severed its ties with EMI in 1957
which led EMI to buy Capitol Records.

World War II fragmented the ownership of the name still further, as
RCA Victor's Japanese subsidiary The Victor Company of Japan (JVC)
became independent, and today they still use the "Victor" brand and
Nipper in Japan only.[2] Nipper continued to appear on RCA Victor
records in America while EMI owned the His Master's Voice label in the
UK until the 1980s, and the HMV shops until 1998.

In 1967, EMI converted the HMV label into an exclusive classical music
label and dropped its POP series of popular music. HMV's POP series
artists' roster was moved to Columbia Graphophone and licenced
American POP record deals to Stateside Records.

The globalised market for CDs pushed EMI into abandoning the HMV label
in favour of "EMI Classics", a name they could use worldwide; however,
it was revived in 1988 for Morrissey recordings. The HMV trademark is
now owned by the retail chain in the UK. The formal trademark transfer
from EMI took place in 2003.[3]

Meanwhile, RCA went into a financial decline. The dog and gramophone
image, along with the RCA name, is now licensed by RCA Records and RCA
Victor owner Sony Music Entertainment from Thomson SA, which operates
RCA's consumer electronics business (still promoted by Nipper the dog)
that it bought from General Electric in 1986, after GE bought RCA.[4]
The image of "His Master's Voice" now exists in the United States as a
trademark only on radios and radios combined with phonographs, a
trademark owned by Thomson subsidiary RCA Trademark Management SA.

With that exception, the "His Master's Voice" dog and gramophone image
is in the public domain in the USA, its United States trademark
registrations having expired in 1989 (for sound recordings and
phonograph cabinets), 1992 (television sets, television-radio
combination sets), and 1994 (sound recording and reproducing machines,
needles, and records).

Additional notes

The "His Master's Voice" logo was used around the world, and the motto
became well-known in different languages. In Europe these include "La
Voix de son Maître" (France), "La Voz de su Amo" (Spain), "A Voz do
seu Dono" (Portugal), "La Voce del Padrone" (Italy), "Die Stimme
seines Herrn" (Germany), "Husbondens Röst" (Sweden) and "Sahibinin
Sesi" (Turkey).

On 1 April, 2007, HMV Group announced that Gromit, the animated dog of
Wallace and Gromit fame, would stand in for Nipper for a three-month
period, promoting children's DVDs in its UK stores.[5]

The 1958 LP album "Elvis' Golden Records" shows pictures of various
RCA 45s with Nipper on their labels. On the British version, these
images were blacked out, for obvious copyright reasons. This editing
took place with many other RCA releases in England.

The movie Superman Returns (2006) contains a scene early on set in
Kansas, in which a "His Master's Voice" radio is clearly shown. His
Master's Voice radios have never been sold in the USA, due to RCA
holding the "Nipper" copyright. The movie was made in Australia, and
the nearest "prop" was obviously used.

Homage is played to the iconic dog and gramophone image in the 1999
feature film Wild Wild West where in a dog resembling Nipper runs to
the side of a recently departed character and looks into an ear horn.
The film however, is set in 1869, 30 years before Barraud created his
work.

HMV Group PLC

Main article: HMV Group http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMV_Group

An HMV store on Oxford StreetThe name HMV is still used by the chain
of entertainment shops founded by Gramophone Company in the UK and
Canada, which continued to expand internationally through the 1990s.

In 1998 HMV Media was created as a separate company leaving EMI with a
43% stake. The firm bought the Waterstone's chain of bookshops and
merged them with Dillons.

In 2002 it floated on the London Stock Exchange as HMV Group plc,
leaving EMI with only a token holding. HMV shops in Australia, Ireland
and the UK also use Nipper. HMV has applied for trademark status in
order to use Nipper at HMV stores in Canada.[6]

As of August 2006, there are over 400 HMV stores worldwide, plus the
website hmv.com,[7] which is operated by HMV Guernsey.

References

^ "The Nipper Saga". http://www.designboom.com/history/nipper.html.
Retrieved 2006-05-27.
^ HMV shops in Canada and Japan are still not allowed to use Nipper
for these reasons; nor did the shops HMV operated in the United States
in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
^ http://www.patent.gov.uk/tm/t-find/t-find-number?detailsrequested=H&trademark=1170322
^ Thomson SA bought the RCA trademarks, including Nipper in the
Americas, from GE in 2003.
^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Gromit steps into HMV logo role
^
http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/trdmrks/srch/vwTrdmrk.do;jsessionid=0000LLtCJxwrmM3pl-wC2RfjpfH:1247nfca5?lang=eng&fileNumber=1396181&extension=0&startingDocumentIndexOnPage=1
^ HMV Adds Gaming. Marketnews.ca. 28 August 2006. Retrieved 13
September 2006.

External links

Nipper at the Open Directory Project http://www.dmoz.org/Recreation/Pets/Dogs/Famous_Dogs/Nipper/
Musée des ondes Emile Berlliner http://www.berliner.montreal.museum/berliner/
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Master%27s_Voice"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Master%27s_Voice

Dog's-shit-eating-dingbat-Dr-Dog-tor, Dr Jai Maharaj is Ashok
Chowgule, His master, manipulator, handler, and his Messiah.

Well a long-winding introduction but Dr. Jai Maharaj, A barking Jewish
convert to Hinduism, from Hawaii, USA, deserves the best.
Well, let's get to the Hindu shit, Nay, a veritable Diarrhea, spilled
and spewed, Nay, spawned, sprinkled in excess, on the 8usenet
newsgroups of all kinds
by this idiot, Nay, Hawaiiidiot, has been a staple for the computer
coolies of California and all places where they dig their diggs in
these United States of America.

Honourable Mr. Ashok Chowgule, the Vice President of the famous, Nay,
infamous, "Vishva Hindu Parishad." A violent group of heinous Hindus
of America and all goddamned places the Expatriate Hindus have
migrated to. In other words, "Not Resident Indians."
I call them, fondly, ofcourse, "Not Required Indians."

Our fake doctor Dr. jai maharaj, takes offence to my posting a long
series of articles and asked these heinous Hindus to find and kill me.
That's the new Hindu hate spirit.

I have no problem with Dr. Jai maharaj's filthy posts. Any sane person
would see throug his constant battering as a hesteria. However, these
heinous Hindus love that shit.

Shit is shit no matter what it is called, like rose is rose, no matter
by what other name it is called. It is appaling to find out that no
one has put a stop on Dr jai Maharaj's filthy posts.

It is Free Speech. Free indeed. It doesn't cost that Hindu hooligan a
penny to post.

May Allah be praised!

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Ashok+Chowgule&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Ashok+Chowgule&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+S+Subramaniam&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+S+Subramaniam&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Christian+priest&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Christian+priest&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Sonia+maino+Gandhi&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Sonia+maino+Gandhi&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Muslim+terrorism&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Muslim+terrorism&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Aryan+invasion&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Aryan+invasion&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Wendy+Doniger&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Wendy+Doniger&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Michael+Witzel&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Michael+Witzel&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Steve+Farmer&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Steve+Farmer&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Vedik+Saraswati&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Vedik+Saraswati&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+non+vegetarian&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+non+vegetarian&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Pope&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Pope&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Keral&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Keral&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Hindutv&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Hindutv&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Hastinapur&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Hastinapur&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Dilli&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Dilli&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Christian+Missionary&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Christian+Missionary&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Communist&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Communist&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Bill+Clinton&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Bill+Clinton&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Sid+Harth&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Sid+Harth&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+child+abuse&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+child+abuse&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+VHP&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+VHP&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+M+F+Hussain&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+M+F+Hussain&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+L+K+Advani&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+L+K+Advani&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Amitabh+Bacchan&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Amitabh+Bacchan&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Nityanand&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Nityanand&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Uma+Bharti&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Uma+Bharti&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Ashok+Singhal&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Ashok+Singhal&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Pravin+Togadia&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Pravin+Togadia&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Rashtriya+Swamsevak+Sangh&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Rashtriya+Swamsevak+Sangh&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+RSS&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+RSS&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+BJP&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+BJP&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Congress&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Congress&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Arun+gandhi&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj+Arun+gandhi&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj++Cow&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj++Cow&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj++Mohaammad&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj++Mohaammad&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Dr+Jai+Maharaj++Ayesha&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=Dr+Jai+Maharaj++Ayesha&gs_rfai=&fp=25bac56246434a91

Well, I can go till Holy Hindu cows come home. You get the idea.

http://navanavonmilita.wordpress.com/his-masters-voice-sid-harth/

navanavonmilita

unread,

Apr 12, 2010, 10:19:21 AM4/12/10

His Master's Voice: Sid Harth

navanavonmilita

unread,

Apr 12, 2010, 12:58:54 PM4/12/10

His Master's Voice: Sid Harth

Anti-Hindu prejudice is a negative perception or religious intolerance
against the practice and practitioners of Hinduism. Anti-Hindu
sentiments have been expressed by Muslims in Pakistan, Bangladesh,
leading to significant persecution of Hindus in those regions, such as
the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities by Pakistan, and the recent demolition
of Hindu temples in Malaysia.[1][2][citation needed]

There are also allegations of Anti-Hinduism voiced by members of the
Hindu diaspora in the West against their host societies, notably in
the United States, where these form part of the so-called "culture
wars", with cases such as the California textbook controversy over
Hindu history.

Individuals in the Indian diaspora have begun to protest that Western
scholars "distort their religion and perpetuate negative stereotypes".
[3] Historically, such stereotypes were promulgated during the British
Raj by several Indophobes in South Asia as a means to aggrandize
sectarian divisions in Indian society, part of the divide and rule
strategy employed by the British.[citation needed] Such allegations
have seen a rise with the Hindu right using them for politics.[3]

The Indian Caste System, a social stratification system in South Asia
which has been criticized for its discriminatory problems, is uniquely
blamed on Hindus and the religion of Hinduism. This is a common
stereotype, as adherents of other religions such as Islam and
Christianity have kept the practice of caste segregation in India (for
details, see Caste system among South Asian Muslims). Some in India
regard it as a social issue, rather than a religious one.[citation
needed] Several organizations in India and abroad have been criticized
by Hindu advocacy groups for these types of attacks.

The devotion to bovine animals (regarded as holy in Hinduism) is also
used as a pretext to mock the Hindu people by many in the west.
[citation needed] In addition, the Hindu tradition of cremating their
dead is used to mock the people.[citation needed]

Anti-Hindu attacks often accuse Hindus of being "Blasphemers" for
committing "idolatry" and "polytheism" (Hinduism is more accurately
described as monistic or henotheistic than polytheistic depending on
the sect or school of belief involved ). Some Anti-Hindus insist on an
interpretation of Hinduism, relating to ancient polytheistic religions
as opposed to one that relates to enlightenment or moksha. This
accusation is prevalent among adherents of monotheistic religions like
Islam and Christianity. Many Christian missionaries, particularly
those of Fundamentalist Christianity, denigrate Hindu deities as
"evil" or "demonic". Advocacy groups in the west, such as the Hindu
American Foundation and the Simon Wiesenthal Center have spoken
against anti-Hindu bigotry and prejudice.

Historical instances of anti-Hindu views

See also: Persecution of Hindus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus

During Islamic Rule in the Indian Subcontinent

Parts of India have historically been subject to Islamic rulers from
the period of Muhammad bin Qasim to the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal
Empire, as well as smaller kingdoms like the Bahmani Sultanate and
Tipu Sultans kingdom of Mysore. In almost all of those regimes, Hindus
have had an inherently inferior status to the Muslim overlords.
Islamic law demands that when under Muslim rule "polytheists" or
"infidels" be treated as dhimmis (from the Arab term) ahl-al-dhimma.
[4]

Barrani

Under the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the Muslim cleric Ziauddin
Barrani wrote several works, such as the Fatwa-i-Jahandari, which gave
him a reputation as as a "fanatical protagonist of Islam"[5] and wrote
that there should be "an all-out struggle against Hinduism",
advocating a militant and dogmatic religiosity.[6] He developed a
system of religious elitism to that effect.[6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_bin_Tughlaq
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziauddin_Barrani

Tipu Sultan

The attitude of Muslim Ruler Tipu Sultan towards Hindus has been the
subject of acrimonious debate in India in recent times with historians
questioning the generally held belief that Tipu Sultan had a secular
outlook.[7]

In the first part of his reign in particular he appears to have been
notably more aggressive and religiously doctrinaire than his father,
Haidar Ali.[8] Malayalam writer V.V.K. Valath has claimed[9] that
Tippu Sultan was a religious persecutor of Hindus. In 1780 CE he
declared himself to be the Padishah or Emperor of Mysore, and struck
coinage in his own name without reference to the reigning Mughal
Emperor Shah Alam II. H. D. Sharma writes that in his correspondence
with other Islamic rulers such as Shah Zaman of Afghanistan, Tippu
Sultan used this title and declared that he intended to establish an
Islamic Empire in the entire country, along the lines of the Mughal
Empire which was at its nadir during the period in question.[10] His
alliance with the French was supposedly aimed at achieving this goal
by driving his main rivals, the British, out of the subcontinent.

C. K. Kareem also notes that Tippu Sultan issued an edict for the
destruction of Hindu temples in Kerala.[11]. The archaeological survey
of India has listed three temples - throughout India - which were
destroyed during the reign of Tipu Sultan. These were the
Harihareshwar Temple at Harihar which was converted into a mosque, the
Varahswami Temple in Seringapatam and the Odakaraya Temple in Hospet.
[12]. The list is incomplete and has not concidered temples such as in
Keladi, Ikkeri and Sagar

S.Chandrasekar, Travel writer & Photographer,2010, records from his
family genealogy (Visanasola,Kuthsa gothra,Telugu Konaseema Dravidlu):
"One of my anscestors, Someswara Iyer was mistakenly imprisoned by
Tipu in 1789. He was a pure saivite and an innocent brahmin. He
refused to eat or drink in prison due to shame and humiliation. Soon
he drooned and fell unconscious. That night Lord appeared in the dream
of Tipu and ordered him to release the poor brahmin. Tipu apoligised
and repented for the sin committed. Someswaran was too fragile and
couldn't move. Tipu asked his court physician to smear battered
curdrice paste throughout the body twice a day. His skin pores
absorbed them. On the third day it was said that he regained energy to
speak. Tipu granted few villages and an emerald shiva linga to
Someswaran Iyer as a token of respect. The lands and lingam have
vanished over the centuries. Henceforth Someswara Iyer was called
Nawab Somayajulu (wife Subbulakshmi). They belonged to the Konaseema
Telugu speaking kuthsa-gothra brahmin family of southindia Konaseema
dravidlu, kuthsa gothram, Visanasola telugu brahmins ‎. Someswaran was
the 8th descendent from Madhyarjunam Subbarao who was a minister at
the court of King Sri Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara Empire c.1500AD
(approx.)"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konaseema_dravidlu,_kuthsa_gothram,_Visanasola_telugu_brahmins

After such attrocities, Tipu's view towards hinduism changed
completely and the history recorded his seeking reverential advice
from the then Sringeri pontiff Sri Sacchidananda Bharati III (1770–
1814). The Sringeri Sarada Peetam has in its safe possession some 24
letters written by the Sultan. Tipu had donated many silver vessels
and gold ornaments to Sri Ranganatha swamy at Seringaptnam which is at
stone's throw from his palace. He had a daily darshan of the temple
gopura from his balcony.

Historian Hayavadana C. Rao wrote about Tippu in his encyclopaedic
work on the History of Mysore. He asserted that Tippu's "religious
fanaticism and the excesses committed in the name of religion, both in
Mysore and in the provinces, stand condemned for all time. His
bigotry, indeed, was so great that it precluded all ideas of
toleration". He further asserts that the acts of Tippu that were
constructive towards Hindus were largely political and ostentatious
rather than an indication of genuine tolerance.[13]

Whilst no scholar has denied that, in common with most rulers of his
period, Tippu’s campaigns were often characterized by great brutality,
some historians claim that this was not exclusively religiously
motivated, and did not amount to a consistent anti-Hindu policy.
Brittlebank, Hasan, Chetty, Habib and Saletare amongst others argue
that stories of Tippu's religious persecution of Hindus and Christians
are largely derived from the work of early British authors such as
Kirkpatrick[14] and Wilks,[15] whom they do not consider to be
entirely reliable.[16] A. S. Chetty argues that Wilks’ account in
particular cannot be trusted.[17]

Although the attitudes of Muslim ruler Tippu Sultan have been
criticized as being anti-Hindu by Indian historians, left-wing
historians note that he had an egalitarian attitude towards Hindus and
was harsh towards them only when politically expedient [18]. Former
IAS Officer, Praxy Fernandes has mentioned in his book that Tipu
Sultan displayed reverence to the head of the Hindu Shringeri Mutt, by
sending a silver palanquin and a pair of silver chauris to the Sarada
Temple [12].

Irfan Habib and Mohibbul Hasan argue that these early British authors
had a strong vested interest in presenting Tippu Sultan as a tyrant
from whom the British had "liberated" Mysore.[19] This assessment is
echoed by Brittlebank in her recent work[20] These claims not
withstanding, one can see vandalized temples in Ikkeri to understand
the fairness of arguments.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irfan_Habib
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikkeri

During Portuguese rule in Goa

During the Portuguese rule in Goa, thousands of Hindus were coerced
into accepting Christianity by passing laws that made it difficult to
practice their faith, harassing them under false pretences or petty
complaints and giving favourable status to converts and mestiços in
terms of laws and jobs [21]. It is alleged that during the Goa
Inquisition, thousands of Goan Hindus were massacred by Portuguese
rulers, starting in the year 1560. The inquisition was proposed by St.
Francis Xavier[22]

During the British Raj

During the British rule of the Indian subcontinent, several
evangelical Christian missionaries spread anti-Hindu propaganda as a
means to convert Hindus to Christianity. Examples include missionaries
like Abbe J.A. Dubois, who wrote "Once the devadasis' temple duties
are over, they open their cells of infamy, and frequently convert the
temple itself into a stew. A religion more shameful or indecent has
never existed amongst a civilized people" [23]

In Charles Grant's highly influential "Observations on the ...Asiatic
subjects of Great Britain" (1796),[24] Grant criticized the
Orientalists for being too respectful to Indian culture and religion.
His work tried to determine the Hindu's "true place in the moral
scale", and he alleged that the Hindus are "a people exceedingly
depraved".

In the West

By the late 19th century, fear had already begun in North America over
Chinese immigration supplying cheap labor to lay railroad tracks,
mostly in California and elsewhere in the West Coast. In xenophobic
jargon common in the day, ordinary workers, newspapers, and
politicians uniformly opposed this "Yellow Peril". The common cause to
eradicate Asians from the workforce gave rise to the Asiatic Exclusion
League. When the fledging Indian community of mostly Punjabi Sikhs
settled in California, the xenophobia expanded to combat not only the
East Asian Yellow Peril, but now the immigrants from British India,
the Turban Tide, equally referred to as the Hindoo Invasion (sic).[25]
[26][27]

The rise of the Indian American community in the United States has
brought about some isolated incidences of attacks on them, as has been
the case with many minority groups in the United States. Attacks
specific to Hindus in the United States stem from what is often
referred to as the "racialization of religion" among Americans, a
process that begins when certain phenotypical features associated with
a group and attached to race in popular discourse become associated
with a particular religion or religions.The racialization of Hinduism
in American perception has led to perceiving Hindus as a separate
group and contributes to prejudices against them.[28]

Pat Robertson

In addition, there have been anti-Hindu views that are specific to the
religion of Hinduism as well as mistaken racial perceptions. Christian
televangelists such as Pat Robertson in the United States has made
remarks that are regarded as anti-Hindu, if not racist,[29] denouncing
Hinduism as "demonic" and evoking similar canards against Hinduism.
These remarks were widely condemned and rebutted by Indian Americans
and many non-partisan advocacy groups.[30] Other Fundamentalist
Christian evangelicals such as Albert Mohler have defended the anti-
Hindu remarks and made disparaging statements about Hinduism as
"satanic", laced together with anti-Buddhist and Islamophobic rhetoric.
[31]

Tony Brown

In 2001, an American talk show host Tony Brown, made several
derogatory anti-Hindu remarks in his talk show on WLS 890 AM that
began with the concern among American workers about the influx of
software engineers from India. He evoked anti-Hindu canards such as
exaggerating the importance of the Caste System in Hinduism, and made
patent falsehoods about Human Rights in India. Protests by Indian-
American community leaders led to the radio host publicly apologizing
for his remarks against Hindus and Hinduism. In his apology, Brown
said:

“ The statements I made were derived from either books or articles
that I read. Still, I had not considered the possibility of bigots
using the information to persecute the Hindu minority in this
country.That does not excuse me from the pain that I have caused by
not being more circumspect.[32] ”

After his apology, Brown also invited Swami Atmajnanananda of the
Washington branch of the Ramakrishna Mission and an Indian journalist
based in Chicago, J V Lakshmana Rao, to participate in the talk show.
Atmajnanananda said one must draw a distinction between caste and
casteism. He said:

“ The assumption that Hindus are inherently racists is dangerous.Caste
does not play a role in one's occupation any more. One should not use
the pitfalls of the Indian culture to attack Hinduism.[32] ”

Refuting Brown's statement that lower castes were being persecuted in
India, Rao spoke of affirmative actions in favor of the lower castes

by the Government of India.

Denver Post

On April 28, 2004, an article on the Denver Post, authored by thoracic
and general surgeons and a commentator on National Public Radio in USA
Pius Kamau, portrayed the entire Indian community and the Hindus with
"bigoted views". Widespread letter-writing and protests from the
Indian American community, the Denver post responded by conveying the
writer and editor's apologies.[33]

On May 6 of that year, Denver Post also published a strong rebuttal to
the original article By P.K. Vedanthan titled "Healing ethnic wounds".
[33]

Hindu American Foundation

The Hindu American Foundation, together with organizations like the
American Jewish Committee, have worked to counter perceived biases
against Hindus and Jews in college campuses like Stanford University.
Both groups claim to have identified cases of academic hostility
against both minorities.[34]

In 2005, The Hindu American Foundation protested against the
defamation of Hinduism in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle
alleging the false anti-Hindu canard of rape being a "just punishment
for criminal behavior". The author removed the statement following the
protest.[35]

In the same year, HAF also protested against an anti-Hindu article
published in the Los Angeles Times where the writer, Paul Watson also
equates Hinduism with the worship of cows and snakes.[36]

US Congress

In July, 2007, The United States Senate conducted its morning prayer
services with a Hindu prayer[37], a historical first. During the
service, three disruptors, named Ante Nedlko Pavkovic, Katherine Lynn
Pavkovic and Christian Renee Sugar, from the Fundamentalist Christian
activist group Operation Save America [7] protested that the Hindu
prayer was "an abomination", and that they were "Christians and
Patriots". They were swiftly arrested and charged with disrupting
Congress.[38][39].

The event generated a storm of protest from Fundamentalist Christian
groups in the country, with the American Family Association posting
lengthy anti-Hindu diatribes on their website.[40] Their
representative attacked the proceedings as "gross idolatry" [41]

The chairman of the United States and India Political Action
Committee, Sanjay Puri, has circulated a letter to the organization
protesting the move as an act of bigotry. He writes:

“ It is our hope and goal that we can open up this dialogue because we
were dismayed to see the communication made to your members that was
blatantly offensive and factually erroneous. As a United States
organization representing the Indian American community, which
includes diverse groups from various religious backgrounds, we hope
that you will make efforts to bring people together.[42] ”

Senate majority leader Harry Reid, who had invited Zed to conduct the
service, responded to the protest by defending his actions. He said:

“ If people have any misunderstanding about Indians and Hindus," Reid
said, "all they have to do is think of Gandhi," a man "who gave his
life for peace.I think it speaks well of our country that someone
representing the faith of about a billion people comes here and can
speak in communication with our heavenly Father regarding peace.[41]
”

Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation
of Church and State, said the protest "shows the intolerance of many
religious right activists. They say they want more religion in the
public square, but it’s clear they mean only their religion."[41]

In South Asia

Afghanistan

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan was known for its extremist
attitudes and views on Islam, including their strict enforcement of
Islamic sharia law in the society. The Taliban regime declared that
Hindus would be required to wear badges in public identifying
themselves as Hindus, ostensibly to "protect them". This was part of
the Taliban's plan to segregate "un-Islamic" and "idolatrous"
communities from Islamic ones.[43]

The decree was regarded as an anti-Hindu one by several lawmakers and
congressmen in the United States, as well as by the Indian Government.
[44] There were widespread protests against this decree in both India
and the United States. In the United States, chairman of the Anti-
Defamation League Abraham Foxman compared the decree to the practices
of Nazi Germany, where Jews were required to wear labels identifying
them as such.[45] In the United States, congressmen wore yellow badges
on the floor of the Senate during the debate as a demonstration of
their solidarity with the Hindu minority in Afghanistan.[44]

[edit] Pakistan
In Pakistan, anti-Hindu sentiments and beliefs are widely held among
many sections of the population. There is a general stereotype against
Hindus in Pakistan. Hindus are regarded as "miserly".[46] Also, Hindus
are often regarded as "Kaffirs" (lit. "unbelievers") and blamed for
"causing all the problems in Pakistan".[47] Islamic fundamentalist
groups operating within Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan have
broadcasted or disseminated anti-Hindu propaganda among the masses,
[48] referring to Hindus as "Hanood" and blaming them for
"collaborating with the foreigners" against the people of the region.

The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), a coalition of Islamist political
parties in Pakistan, calls for the increased Islamization of the
government and society, specifically taking an anti-Hindu stance. The
MMA leads the opposition in the national assembly, held a majority in
the NWFP Provincial Assembly, and was part of the ruling coalition in
Balochistan. However, some members of the MMA made efforts to
eliminate their rhetoric against Hindus.[49]

The public school curriculum in Pakistan was Islamized during the
1980s.[50] The government of Pakistan claims to undertake a major
revision to eliminate such teachings and to remove Islamic teaching
from secular subjects.[49] The bias in Pakistani textbooks was also
documented by Y. Rosser (2003). She wrote that

“ in the past few decades, social studies textbooks in Pakistan have
been used as locations to articulate the hatred that Pakistani policy
makers have attempted to inculcate towards their Hindu neighbours”,
and that as a result "in the minds of generations of Pakistanis,
indoctrinated by the 'Ideology of Pakistan' are lodged fragments of
hatred and suspicion. ”

(Rosser 2003)[51]

The bias in Pakistani textbooks was studied by Rubina Saigol, Pervez
Hoodbhoy, K. K. Aziz, I. A. Rahman, Mubarak Ali, A. H. Nayyar, Ahmed
Saleem, Y. Rosser and others.

A study by Nayyar & Salim (2003) that was conducted with 30 experts of
Pakistan's education system, found that the textbooks contain
statements that seek to create hate against Hindus. There was also an
emphasis on Jihad, Shahadat, wars and military heroes. The study
reported that the textbooks also had a lot of gender-biased
stereotypes. Some of the problems in Pakistani textbooks cited in the
report were:

“ Insensitivity to the existing religious diversity of the nation”;
"Incitement to militancy and violence, including encouragement of
Jihad and Shahadat”; a “glorification of war and the use of force”;
"Inaccuracies of fact and omissions that serve to substantially
distort the nature and significance of actual events in our history";
“Perspectives that encourage prejudice, bigotry and discrimination
towards fellow citizens, especially women and religious minorities,
and other towards nations” and “Omission of concepts ... that could
encourage critical self awareness among students”. (Nayyar & Salim
2003).The Pakistani Curriculum document for classes K-V stated in 1995
that "at the completion of Class-V, the child should be able to
"Understand Hindu-Muslim differences and the resultant need for
Pakistan. ”

[pg154]

A more recent textbook published in Pakistan titled "A Short History
of Pakistan" edited by Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi has been heavily
criticized by academic peer-reviewers for anti-Hindu biases and
prejudices that are consistent with Pakistani nationalism, where
Hindus are portrayed as "villains" and Muslims as "victims" living
under the "disastrous Hindu rule" and "betraying the Muslims to the
British", characterizations that academic reviewers fond "disquieting"
and having a "warped subjectivity".[52][53][54]

Ameer Hamza, a leader of the banned terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba,
wrote a highly derogatory book about Hinduism in 1999 called "Hindu Ki
Haqeeqat" ("Reality of (a) Hindu"); he was not prosecuted by the
Government.[55]

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, the Bangladesh National Party is regarded as an anti-
Hindu party, and reportedly encourages anti-Hindu views and sentiments
among the Muslim majority.[citation needed] Prominent political
leaders frequently fall back on "Hindu bashing" in an attempt to
appeal to extremist sentiment and to stir up communal passions.[56] In
one of the most notorious utterances of a mainstream Bangladeshi
figure, the then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, while leader of the
opposition in 1996, declared that the country was at risk of hearing
"uludhhwani" (a Bengali Hindu custom involving women's ululation) from
mosques, replacing the azaan (Muslim call to prayer) (eg, see Agence-
France Press report of 18 November 1996, "Bangladesh opposition leader
accused of hurting religious sentiment").

Even the supposedly secular Awami League is not immune from this kind
of scare-mongering. The current prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, was
alleged to have accused Bangladeshi Hindu leaders in New York of
having divided loyalties with "one foot in India and one in
Bangladesh". Successive events such as this have contributed to a
feeling of tremendous insecurity among the Hindu minority.[57]

The fundamentalists and right-wing parties such as the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party and Jatiya Party often portray Hindus as being
sympathetic to India, making accusations of dual loyalty and
allegations of transferring economic resources to India, contributing
to a widespread perception that Bangladeshi Hindus are disloyal to the
state. Also, the right wing parties claim the Hindus to be backing the
Awami League.[58]

As widely documented in international media, Bangladesh authorities
have had to increase security to enable Bangladeshi Hindus to worship
freely[59] following widespread attacks on places of worship and
devotees.

India

Extremist fringes within the broader movement for Dalits, such as
Dalit Voice have expressed anti-Hindu views and sentiments, demanding
the eradication of Hindus and expressing support for various Islamist
groups around the world.[60]

Other countries
South Africa

South Africa is home to a small Hindu minority. In 2006, the son of an
Islamic cleric named Ahmed Deedat, circulated a DVD that denounced
South African Hindus. The elder Deedat, former head of the Arab funded
"Islamic Propagation Centre International" (IPCI), had previously
circulated an anti-Hindu video in the 80's where he said that Indian
Muslims were 'fortunate' that their Hindu forefathers 'saw the light'
and converted to Islam when Muslim rulers dominated some areas of
India. His video was widely criticized. While Hindus in South Africa
have largely ignored the new anti-Hindu DVD circulated by Deedat
Junior, he has been severely criticized by local Muslims, including
other members of the IPCI.[citation needed]The IPCI said in a
statement that Yusuf Deedat did not represent the organisation in any
way. Deedat Junior, undeterred by the opposition from his own
brethren, continues to circulate the material.He has placed
advertisements in newspapers inviting anyone to collect a free copy
from his residence to see for themselves "what the controversy is
about".[61]

Anti-Hindu crimes
See also persecution of Hindus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus

Hate crime statistics against Hindus in North American countries are
unavailable. However, it is believed that sporadic bouts of communal
and institutional hatred against Hindus have occurred, though their
frequency may have decreased in recent years. In the late 1980s a
Jersey City street gang calling themselves the "Dotbusters" targeted,
threatened and attacked South Asians, specifically Hindus.[62]

On July 20, 2006, The Hindu American Foundation represented Hindus as
a part of a coalition of civil rights, educational and religious
submitting comments to the Department of Justice on its implementation
of the Hate Crime Statistics Act (HCSA). Enacted by Congress in 1990,
the HCSA requires the Justice Department to acquire data on crimes
which "manifest prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation,
or ethnicity" from law enforcement agencies across the country and to
publish an annual report of its the findings.[63]

More recent anti-Hindu violence

There have been a number of more recent attacks on Hindu temples and
Hindus by Muslim militants. Prominent among them are the 1998 Chamba
massacre, the 2002 fidayeen attacks on Raghunath temple, the 2002
Akshardham Temple attack allegedly perpetrated by Islamic terrorist
outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba[64], the 2006 Lahore temple demolition, and the
2006 Varanasi bombings (supposedly perpetrated by Lashkar-e-Toiba),
resulting in many deaths and injuries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Chamba_massacre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_fidayeen_attacks_on_Raghunath_temple
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akshardham_Temple_attack
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lashkar-e-Toiba
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Lahore_temple_demolition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Varanasi_bombings

See also

Decline of Hinduism in Pakistan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_Hinduism_in_Pakistan

Notes

^ [1][dead link]
^ Temple row - a dab of sensibility please
http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0412/features/index-print.shtml
^ a b Braverman, Amy M. (2006). "The interpretation of gods".
University of Chicago Magazine. http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0412/features/index-print.shtml.
Retrieved 2007-04-01. '
http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0412/features/index-print.shtml
http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/mm.htm
^ Nicholas F. Gier, FROM MONGOLS TO MUGHALS: RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE IN
INDIA 9TH-18TH CENTURIES, Presented at the Pacific Northwest Regional
Meeting American Academy of Religion, Gonzaga University, May,
2006[2]
^ Das, Arbind, Arthashastra of Kautilya and Fatwa-i-Jahandari of
Ziauddin Barrani:an analysis, Pratibha Publications, Delhi 1996, ISBN
81-85268-45-2 pgs 138-139
^ a b Verma, V.P, Ancient and Medieval Indian Political Thought,
Lakshmi Narasan Aggarwal Educational Publications, Agra 1986
pgs218-220
^ http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/05/09/stories/2003050902820400.htm
^ Lewin Bowring Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan and the struggle with the
Musalman powers of the south (Oxford: Clarendon Press) 1893
^ Valath, V. V. K. (1981) (in Malayalam). Keralathile
Sthacharithrangal - Thrissur Jilla. Kerala Sahithya Academy. pp. 74–
79.
^ Sharma, H.D (January 16, 1991). The Real Tipu. Rishi Publications,
Varanasi.
^ Kareem, C.K (1973) [1973]. Kerala Under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan
P187. Kerala History Association : distributors, Paico Pub. House. p.
322.
^ a b http://newstodaynet.com/guest/3110gu1.htm
^ Rao, Hayavadana C.. History of Mysore 1399-1799: Incorporating the
latest Epigraphical, Literary and Historical Researches Vol. 3 pgs
1047-53. Bangalore Government Press.
^ W. Kirkpatrick Select Letters of Tippoo Sultan (London) 1811
^ M. Wilks Report on the Interior Administration, Resources and
Expenditure of the Government of Mysore under the System prescribed by
the Order of the Governor-General in Council dated 4 September 1799
(Bangalore) 1864 & Historical Sketches of the South of India in an
Attempt to Trace the History of Mysore Ed. M. Hammick (Mysore) 1930 2
Vols.
^ C.C. Davies "Review of The History of Tipu Sultan by Mohibbul Hasan"
in The English Historical Review Vol.68 №.266 (Jan, 1953) pp144-5
^ A. Subbaraya Chetty “Tipu’s endowments to Hindus and Hindu
institutions” in Habib (Ed.) Confronting Colonialism p111
^ Kate Brittlebank Tipu Sultan’s Search for Legitimacy: Islam and
Kingship in a Hindu domain (Delhi: Oxford University Press) 1997
^ Irfan Habib "War and Peace. Tippu Sultan's Account of the last Phase
of the Second War with the English, 1783-4" State and Diplomacy Under
Tipu Sultan (Delhi) 2001 p5; Mohibbul Hasan writes "The reasons why
Tipu was reviled are not far to seek. Englishmen were prejudiced
against him because they regarded him as their most formidable rival
and an inveterate enemy, and because, unlike other Indian rulers, he
refused to become a tributary of the English Company. Many of the
atrocities of which he has been accused were allegedly fabricated
either by persons embittered and angry on account of the defeats which
they had sustained at his hands, or by the prisoners of war who had
suffered punishments which they thought they did not deserve. He was
also misrepresented by those who were anxious to justify the wars of
aggression which the Company's Government had waged against him.
Moreover, his achievements were belittled and his character blackened
in order that the people of Mysore might forget him and rally round
the Raja, thus helping in the consolidation of the new regime" The
History of Tipu Sultan (Delhi) 1971 p368
^ Brittlebank Tipu Sultan’s search for legitimacy p10-12. On p2 she
writes “it is perhaps ironic that the aggressive Hinduism of some
members of the Indian Community in the 1990s should draw upon an image
of Tipu which, as we shall see, was initially constructed by the
Subcontinent’s colonizers.”
^ Saraswati's Children - Alan Machado Prabhu
^ Rao, R.P (1963). Portuguese Rule in Goa:1510-1961 P43. Asia
Publishing House.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.P_Rao
^ Hinduism Today | Sep 1993 http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1993/9/1993-9-12.shtml
^ Grant, Charles. (1796) Observations on the state of society among
the Asiatic subjects of Great Britain, particularly with respect to
morals; and on the means of improving it, written chiefly in the year
1792.
^ Chan Sucheng,Asian Americans: An Interpretive History,Twayne 1991
^ "Shut the gate to the Hindoo invasion", San Francisco examiner, June
6, 1910
^ Closed Borders and Mass Deportations: The Lessons of the Barred Zone
Act by Alicia J. Campi
http://www.ailf.org/ipc/barredzoneprint.asp
^ Joshi, Khyati, The Racialization of Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism in
the United States,Equity & Excellence in Education, Volume 39, Number
3, August 2006, pp. 211-226(16)
^ CHRISTIAN PAT ROBERTSON DENOUNCES HINDUISM AS "DEMONIC"
http://www.sullivan-county.com/news/pat_quotes/hindus.htm
^ "Using TV, Christian Pat Robertson Denounces Hinduism as "Demonic"".
Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. http://www.webcitation.org/5kmoc6zLH.
http://www.webcitation.org/5kmoc6zLH
^ Not to be outdone by Robertson, Mohler claimed that Buddhism,
Hinduism, and Marxism are "demonstration[s] of satanic power",Media
Matters
http://mediamatters.org/research/200603200013
^ a b US radio host apologises over anti-Hindu remarks, rediff.com
http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jul/28hindu.htm
^ a b Denver Post / Author "regrets" for the "Racially Hateful"
article, Indiacause.com
http://www.ivarta.com/Cause/C29_denverpost.htm
^ Panel promotes understanding
http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2005/11/17/panelPromotesUnderstanding
^ HAF Protests Defamation of Hinduism in San Francisco Chronicle,
Hindu American Foundation
http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/media_letters_sfchronicle_hinduphobic.htm
^ HAF Responds to Hinduphobic Article in LA Times, Hindu American
Foundation
http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/media_letters_latimes_hinduphobic.htm
^ "Senate Prayer Led by Hindu Elicits Protest".
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/12/AR2007071202007.html.
Retrieved 2008-12-19.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/12/AR2007071202007.html
^ [3]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/washington/13brfs-AHINDUPRAYER_BRF.html?ex=1341979200&en=851dbe33e5130b8d&ei=5124&partner=digg&exprod=digg
^ A link to YouTube video at YouTube http://www.youtube.com/videos
^ [4] http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070712205448.8n6ee52e&show_article=1&image=large
^ a b c [5] http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/view.bg?articleid=1010979
^ [6] http://www.usinpac.com/news_details.asp?News_ID=66
^ Taliban to mark Afghan Hindus,CNN
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/view.bg?articleid=1010979
^ a b US Lawmakers Condemn Taliban Treatment Of Hindus,CNSnews.com
http://www.usinpac.com/news_details.asp?News_ID=66
^ Taliban: Hindus Must Wear Identity Labels,People's Daily
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/fyi/news/05/22/taleban.hindus/index.html
^ Why are the Jews ‘kanjoos’? —Khaled Ahmed’s Review of the Urdu
press,Daily times (Pakistan)
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2005\10\21\story_21-10-2005_pg3_2
^ Why democracy didn't take roots in Pakistan?, Kashmir Herald
http://www.kashmirherald.com/featuredarticle/democracyinpakistan.html
^ Military drops leaflets in Waziristan, jang.com.pk
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/mar2006-daily/24-03-2006/main/main5.htm
^ a b International Religious Freedom Report 2006 Published by the US
Department of State
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71443.htm
^ Pakistan http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71443.htm
^ Abuse of History in Pakistan: Bangladesh to Kargil, by Dr. Yvette C
Rosser
http://web.archive.org/web/20031114223934/http://www.mlists.net/sindh-intl/mail/mail_abuseofhistory.htm
^ Lehmann, F., 1968, Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia,
pp. 644-645
^ Calkins, P. B. Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia, pp.
643-644, 1968
http://www.jstor.org/
^ Ahmed, A., Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia, pp.
645-647, 1968
http://www.jstor.org/view/0030851x/dm991959/99p1008i/0
^ International Religious Freedom Report 2004" Published by the US
Department of State
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35519.htm
^ Print Article - Wanted: Some Hindu spine
http://in.rediff.com/cms/print.jsp?docpath=/news/2005/aug/13guest1.htm
^ A Bleak Future for Bangladesh Hindu's, hinduismtoday.com
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2000/2/2000-2-07.shtml
^ Amnesty International Report
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA13/006/2001
^ Security fears for Hindu festival, BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2310359.stm
^ Dalit Voice, 16 January 1993
^ South African Muslims reject anti-Hindu DVD,India Enews
http://www.indiaenews.com/africa/20060312/230.htm
^ U.S. Racial Attacks Evoke Self-Scrutiny, hinduismtoday.com
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1989/01/1989-01-09.shtml
^ Hindu American Foundation Comments on Hate Crime Statistics Act
Report
http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/media_press_release_hate_crime_statistics_act.htm
^ Bajrang Dal launches campaign,The Tribune
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20021021/ldh1.htm#6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti_Hindu

Intra-Hindu Prejudice

Shudra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shudra (IAST: Sanskrit and Hindi: शूद्र Śūdra, normally now spelled
Sudra or Súdra in English, which has produced a spelling
pronunciation[1]) is the lowest[citation needed] Varna in the
traditional four-section division in the Hindu caste system. Their
assigned and expected role in post-Vedic North India was that of
farmers, craftsmen, and labourers. The four Varnas are Brahmin,
Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra. (Hindu society eventually came to
include a fifth pariah class,[citation needed] the lowest of all,
[citation needed] popularly known as "untouchables".)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraiyar

Origins

Whilst the origins of the other varnas can be traced to Proto-Indo-
European words, the word[clarification needed] is translated as the
Sanskrit word for color of the soul. In the Shanti Parva of
Mahabharata, it is said that there was only one Varna—Brahmana—in the
beginning. The other Varnas were formed depending on the dominance of
the three Gunas—Sattwa, Rajah and Tamah—in one's self.

Etymology

The etymology of the word is not certain. One theory is that Shudra
comes from the word śuchāt dravanam (शुचात् द्रवनम्)[citation needed]
a person who is in suffering/mourning/pain, who needs mental or
physical cleansing. This theory is however intended to demean the
significance of the Varna system. Shudra was a common Sanskrit word,
any person regardless of his/her varna to could be addressed as
shudra. An implied version of this common form has become
traditionally associated with the varna system. It is also mentioned
in the purusha-sukta of Rigveda where shudras are said to have
emanated from the feet of the lord (पद्भ्याम् शूद्र् अजायत padbhyām
śūdro ajāyata)[citation needed]. A very symbolic statement indeed. It
denotes that the three other varnas which made up the parts of purusha
(पुरुश, the lord) were supported by the shudras as the feet form the
supporting system of the entire body.[citation needed] This can be
understood clearly from the fact that the shudras were basically
farmers, potters, cobblers etc (anything the other three varnas would
not do viz, teaching, fighting and trade)[citation needed] and hence
they formed a support system for the entire society. Unfortunately,
direct misinterpretations of these vedic hymns have caused a lot of
unrest and confusion in the modern Hindu society. Vedas do not
establish supremacy of any varna over the other nor do they say head
of the Lord is superior to his feet. Sri Krishna in Bhagavad Gita
clarifies (Chapter 4 verse 13) states "catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-
karma-vibhagasah tasya kartaram api mam viddhy akartaram avyayam"
meaning that the fours varnas were established based on one's karma/
duties.[citation needed]

Jāti

Main article: Jāti
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C4%81ti

The theoretical and the original varnas carried to its extreme in the
ages following the "vajj" Indian period. Every Jāti claimed to belong
to some varna. Local variations of Jāti sub-castes exist within the
Shudra caste. A sub-caste is a local endogenous group practising a
lower end Shudras will be untouchable Dalits, i.e., Dalits are
considered as Shudra.[citation needed]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit

Shudras and North Indian society

It is commonly believed[who?] that the caste division is more
uniform[clarification needed] in North India than in South India. Some
prominent rulers of North India were believed to have originated from
the Shudra caste, e.g., the Nandas. Another feature of North Indian
society is the presence of castes or Jatis with conflicting Varna
status, e.g., Kayasthas, Khatris, etc.

Medieval royal dynasties

Inscriptions of Shudra dynasties declare that belonging to the fourth
varna was a matter of pride. An inscription of Singaya-Nayaka (1368
CE) says:[2]

The three castes, viz. Brahmanas and the next [Kshatriyas and
Vaishyas], were produced from the face, the arms and the thighs of the
Lord; and for their support was born the fourth caste from His feet.
That this caste is purer than the former [three] is self-evident; for
this caste was born along with the river Ganges [which also springs
from his feet], the purifier of the three worlds. The members of this
caste are eagerly attentive to their duties, not wicked, pure-minded,
and are devoid of passion and other such blemishes; they ably bear all
the burdens of the earth by helping those born in the kingly caste.

Another inscription relates how his relative Kapaya-Nayaka "rescued
the Andhra country from the ravages of the Mohammedans".[3]

Shudras outside India

See also: Balinese caste system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balinese_caste_system

Shudra as a Varna is seen amongst the Hindus of Nepal, Sri Lanka, and
Bali in Indonesia.[clarification needed] In Bali, they form 90% of the
practicing Hindu population. During the historic period,[when?] many
people in Java, Cambodia, and Champa (a region in Vietnam) were
considered to be Shudras[citation needed] prior to their conversion to
Islam or Buddhism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodia

Notes

^ "Who were the Shudras", B. R. Ambedkar http://www.saxakali.com/
^ Shudras in Ancient India, R. Chandra and K.L. Chanchreek. New Delhi,
Shree Pub., 2004, ISBN 81-88658-65-0.
^ Early Evidence for Caste in South India http://www.tamilnation.org/caste/hart.pdf
^ Oxford English Dictionary, s. v. "Sudra" sic
^ Sastri, K. Rama (1982). "Akkalapundi grant of Singaya-Nayaka: Saka-
Samvat 1290" Epigraphica Indica, vol. XIII. India: Archaeological
Survey of India. pp. 259ff., v.5–7.
^ Sastri, K. Rama (1982). "Akkalapundi grant of Singaya-Nayaka: Saka-
Samvat 1290" Epigraphica Indica, vol. XIII. India: Archaeological
Survey of India. p. 261.

External links

The Jati-Varna Matrix
http://www.hindubooks.org/sudheer_birodkar/hindu_history/castejati-varna.html
Caste System in Bengal
http://tanmoy.tripod.com/bengal/caste.html
Dictionary definition of Shudra
http://bopedia.com/en/wikipedia/s/sh/shudra.html
Contribution of Backward-caste Hindu Saints
http://hinduwiki.com/index.php?title=Backward-caste_Hindu_Saints

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shudra

Manusmṛti

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Manu Smriti)

Manusmṛti or Manusmriti (Sanskrit: मनुस्मृति), also known as Mānava-
Dharmaśāstra (Sanskrit: मानवधर्मशास्त्र), is the most important and
earliest metrical work of the Dharmaśāstra textual tradition of
Hinduism.[1] Generally known in English as the Laws of Manu, it was
first translated into English in 1794 by Sir William Jones, an English
Orientalist and judge of the British Supreme Court of Judicature in
Calcutta.[2] The text presents itself as a discourse given by Manu,
the progenitor of mankind to a group of seers, or rishis, who beseech
him to tell them the "law of all the social classes" (1.2). Manu
became the standard point of reference for all future Dharmaśāstras
that followed it.[3]

According to Hindu tradition, the Manusmriti records the words of
Brahma.[4] By attributing the words to supernatural forces, the text
takes on an authoritative tone as a statement on Dharma, in opposition
to previous texts in the field, which were more scholarly.[5]

Date and context

The text shows the obvious influence of previous Dharmasutras and
Arthasastric work. In particular, the Manu Smriti was the first to
adopt the term vyavaharapadas. These eighteen Titles of Law or Grounds
for Litigation make up more than one fifth of the work and deal
primarily with matters of the king, state, and judicial procedure.[5]
Though most scholars had previously considered the text a composite
put together over a long period of time, Olivelle has recently argued
that the complex and consistent structure of the text suggests a
single author. However, no details of this eponymous author's life are
known, though it is likely that he belonged to a conservative Brahmin
caste somewhere in Northern India.[3]

A range of historical opinion generally dates composition of the text
any time between 200 BCE and 200 CE.[6] After the breakdown of the
Maurya and Shunga empires, there was a period of uncertainty that led
to renewed interest in traditional social norms.[7] In Thapar's view,
"The severity of the Dharma-shastras was doubtless a commentary
arising from the insecurity of the orthodox in an age of flux."[8]

The dharma class of texts were also noteworthy because they did not
depend on the authority of particular Vedic schools, becoming the
starting point of an independent tradition that emphasized dharma
itself and not its Vedic origins.[9]

Structure

The original treatise consisted of one thousand chapters of law,
polity, and pleasure given by Brahmā. His son, Manu, learns these
lessons and proceeds to teach his own students, including Bhrigu.
Bhrigu then relays this information in the Manu Smriti, to an audience
of his own pupils.[10]

This original narrative was subdivided later into twelve chapters.
There is debate over the effects of this division on the underlying,
holistic manner in which the original treatise was written.[11] The
book is written in simple verse as opposed to the metrical verse of
the preceding dharmasutras. Manu also introduced a unique
“transitional verse” which segued the end of one subject and the
beginning of the next.

The treatise is written with a frame story, in which a dialogue takes
place between Manu’s disciple, Bhrigu, and an audience of his own
students. The story begins with Manu himself detailing the creation of
the world and the society within it, structured around four social
classes. Bhrigu takes over for the remainder of the work, teaching the
details of the rest of Manu’s teachings. The audience reappears twice
more, asking first to ask about how Brahmins can be subjected to
death, and second to ask the effects of action.[12]

Table of Contents

This Table of Contents comes from Olivelle's translation of the Manu
Smriti and provides the transitional verses between each subject:[13]

1. Origin of the World (1.1-119)

2. Sources of the Law (2.1-24)

"I have described to you above succinctly the source of the Law, as
also the origin of this whole world. Learn now the Laws of the social
classes." (2.25)

3. Dharma of the Four Social Classes (2.25-11.266)

3.1 Rules Relating to Law (2.25-10.131)
3.1.1 Rules of Action in Normal Times (2.26-9.336)
3.1.1.1 Fourfold Dharma of a Brahmin (2.26-6.97)
"I have explained to you above the fourfold Law of Brahmins, a Law
that is holy and brings imperishable rewards after death. Listen now
to the Law of kings." (6.97)

3.1.1.2 Rules of Action for a King (7.1-9.325)
"I have described above in its entirety the eternal rules of action
for the king. What follows, one should understand, are the rules of
action for the Vaiśyas and Śūdras in their proper order." (9.325)

3.1.1.3 Rules of Action for Vaiśyas and Śūdras (9.325-36)
"I have described above the splendid rules of action for the social
classes outside times of adversity. Listen now to the rules for them
in the proper order for times of adversity." (9.336)

3.1.2 Rules of Action in Times of Adversity (10.1-129)
"I have described above the entire set of rules pertaining to the Law
of the four classes. Next, I will explain the splendid rules
pertaining to penance." (10.131)

3.2 Rules Relating to Penance (11.1-265)
"You have described this Law for the four classes in its entirety, O
Sinless One! Teach us accurately the ultimate consummation of the
fruits of actions." (12.1)

4. Determination Regarding Engagement in Action (12.3-116)
"Bhrgu, the son of Manu and the very embodiment of the Law, said to
those great seers: ‘Listen to the determination with respect to
engagement in action.’" (12.2)

4.1 Fruits of Action (12.3-81)
"I have declared to you above all the fruits arising from actions.
Listen now to these rules of action for a Brahmin, rules that secure
the supreme good." (12.82)

4.2 Rules of Action for Supreme God (12.83-115)
"I have explained to you above all the best means of securing the
supreme good. A Brahmin who does not deviate from them obtains the
highest state." (12.116)

Nature and Purpose

The Manu Smriti is written with a focus on the “shoulds” of dharma
rather than on the actuality of everyday practice in India at the
time. Still, its practical application should not be underestimated.
Through intermediate forces such as the instruction of scholars, the
teachings did indeed have indirect effect on major segments of the
Indian population. It is also an invaluable point of common reference
in scholarly debates.[14]

It seems likely that the book was written in a manner which was very
mindful to the dangers facing the Brahmin community during a time of
much change and social upheaval. A renewed alliance between the
Brahmin and Kṣatra communities is clearly a goal reflected in the
introduction of the vyavahārapadas.[15] The emphasis which this topic
receives can be seen as an offering of solidarity from the religious
community to the ruling class.

Commentaries on Manu

There have been numerous commentaries written on the Manu Smṛti. Some
of the major commentaries are listed below:

Bhāruci

Bhāruci is the oldest known commentator on the Manu Smṛti. Kane places
him in the late 10th or early 11 century,[16] Olivelle places him in
the 8th century,[17] and Derrett places him between 600-650 CE.[17]
From these three opinions we can place Bhāruci anywhere from the early
seventh century CE to the early eleventh century CE. The surviving
portion of Bhāruci's commentary that we have today deals mostly with
the duties of the king and whether or not the king can be a source of
dharma.

Medhātithi

Medhātithi is one of the most famous commentators on the Manu Smṛti,
and there is some debate regarding the location in which he was
writing, but scholars such as Buhler, Kane, and Lingat tend to believe
he was from Kashmir or the area around Kashmir. The exact date that
Medhātithi was writing is also unclear, and he has been placed
anywhere between 820CE and 1050CE.[18]

Economic Ideas

Economic Ideas Embedded in Manusmriti has been given in detail by
Ratan Lal Basu.[19]

Views and criticism

The work is considered an important source for sociological, political
and historical studies. Manu Smriti is one of the most heavily
criticized of the scriptures of Hinduism, having been attacked by
colonial scholars, modern liberals, Hindu reformists, Dalit advocates,
feminists[20] , Marxists and certain groups of traditional Hindus,
namely Smartas[citation needed]. Much of its criticism stems from its
unknown authority, as some believe the text to be authoritative, but
others do not. There is also debate over whether the text has suffered
from later interpolations of verses.

In northern/southern India Vaishnavism and Shaivism were the common
religious traditions, and the teachings of the Manu Smriti was not as
widely followed or well-known.

In 300 BCE, Megasthenes wrote that the people around the Mathura
region worshipped Harculas (Hari-Krishna) and followed the Gita as
daily life principles. Also Faxian did not mention anything about
rigid-ness of the varna systems. Chanakya, the author of Arthashastra,
never mentioned any social laws prevailing in the society during the
first integrator and Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta's reign.

The Manu Smriti was one of the first Sanskrit texts studied by the
British. It was first translated into English by the founder of
indology, Sir William Jones. His version was published in 1794.[21]
British administrative requirements encouraged their interest in the
Dharmashastras, which they believed to be legal codes. In fact, these
were not codes of law but norms related to social obligations and
ritual requirements.[22] According to Avari:

The text was never universally followed or acclaimed by the vast
majority of Indians in their history; it came to the world's attention
through a late eighteenth-century translation by Sir William Jones,
who mistakenly exaggerated both its antiquity and its importance.
Today many of its ideas are popularised as the golden norm of
classical Hindu law by Hindu universalists. They are, however,
anathema to modern thinkers and particularly feminists.[23]
The "Law of Manu" was cited favorably by the German philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche, who deemed it "an incomparably spiritual and
superior work" to the Christian Bible. He observed that "the sun
shines on the whole book" and attributed its ethical perspective to
"the noble classes, the philosophers and warriors, [who] stand above
the mass."[24] However, he also criticized it for its abusive
treatment of the chandala, claiming that "this organization too found
it necessary to be terrible."[25]

Surendra Kumar, who counts a total of 2,685 verses, finds that only
1,214 are authentic, the other 1,471 being interpolations on the text.
[26] In reply to the criticism of the sudra caste, the verses critical
of the sudras and women are considered to be later interpolations, but
not later than Adi Shankara (7th-8th century CE). The law in Manu
Smriti also appears to be overtly positive towards the brahmin
(priest) caste in terms of concessions made in fines and punishments.
The stance of the Manu Smriti about women has also been debated. While
certain verses such as (III - 55, 56, 57, 59, 62) glorify the position
of women, other verses (IX - 3, 17) seem to attack the position and
freedom women have. The education of women is also discussed in the
text. Certain interpretations of Verse (IX - 18) claim that it
discourages women from reading Vedic scriptures. Verse (II - 240),
however, allows women to read Vedic scriptures. Similar contradictory
phrases are encountered in relation to child marriage in verses (IX -
94) and (IX - 90).

In his book Revolution and Counter-Revolution in India, Dalit leader
B. R. Ambedkar asserted that Manu Smriti was written by a sage named
Brigu during the times of Pushyamitra of Sangha in connection with
social pressures caused by the rise of Buddhism.[27] However,
historian Romila Thapar considers these claims to be exaggerations.
She writes that archaeological evidence casts doubt on the claims of
Buddhist persecution by Pushyamitra.[28] Support of the Buddhist faith
by the Sungas at some point is suggested by an epigraph on the gateway
of Bharhut, which mentions its erection "during the supremacy of the
Sungas"[29] Hinduism does not evangelize.[30]

However, not all Hindus agree with the criticisms of the text, or the
assertion that the Manu Smriti is not authoritative. Some prominent
Hindu figures, such as Swami Dayananda Saraswati[31] and A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami,[32] hold the text to be authentic and
authoritative. Other admirers of the text have included Annie Besant,
P.D. Ouspensky, Pandurang Shastri Athavale and Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan. Friedrich Nietzsche is noted to have said "Close the
Bible and open the Manu Smriti. “It has an affirmation of life, a
triumphing agreeable sensation in life and that to draw up a lawbook
such as Manu means to permit oneself to get the upper hand, to become
perfection, to be ambitious of the highest art of living"[33]

Notes

^ See Flood 1996: 56 and Olivelle 2005.
^ Jones's translation is available online as The Institutes of Hindu
Law: Or, The Ordinances of Manu, Calcutta: Sewell & Debrett, 1796.
^ a b Olivelle, "Literary History," p. 16.
^ Olivelle(2004), p. xx.
^ a b Olivelle, Literary History, p. 17.
^ For composition between 200 BCE and 200 CE see: Avari, p. 142. For
dating of composition "between the second century BCE and third
century CE" see: Flood (1996), p. 56. For dating of Manu Smriti in
"final form" to the second century CE, see: Keay, p. 103. For dating
as completed some time between 200 BCE and 100 CE see: Hopkins, p. 74.
For probable origination during the second or third centuries AD, see:
Kulke and Rothermund, p. 85. For the text as preserved dated to around
the 1st century BCE. see: Encyclopedia Britannica Concise,
http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9371223/Manu-smrti,
retrieved 2007-06-24
^ For significance of post-empire social uncertainty as a factor in
the development of the Code of Manas, see: Kulke and Rothermund, p.
85.
^ Tharpar (2002), p. 279.
^ For the dharmashastras, including Manu Smriti, as the starting point
for an independent tradition not dependent on Vedic origins, see:
Hopkins, p. 74.
^ Olivelle(2004), pp. xxi-xxii.
^ Olivelle(2004), pp. xxvii.
^ Olivelle(2004), p. xxv.
^ Olivelle(2004), pp. xxviii-xxix.
^ Olivelle(2004), p. xxli.
^ Olivelle, Literary History, p. 19.
^ Kane, P. V., History of Dharmaśāstra, (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental
Research Institute, 1975), Volume I, Part I, 566.
^ a b Olivelle, Patrick, "Dharmaśāstra: A Literary History", 29.
^ Kane, P. V., History of Dharmaśāstra, (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental
Research Institute, 1975), Volume I, Part II, 583.
^ Ratan Lal Basu & Rajkumar Sen, 2008, Ancient Indian Economic
Thought, Relevance for Today, ISBN 81-316-0125-0, Rawat Publications,
New Delhi
^ For objections to the work by feminists, see: Avari, pp. 142-143.
^ For Manu Smriti as one of the first Sanskrit texts noted by the
British and translation by Sir William Jones in 1794, see: Flood
(1996), p. 56.
^ For British interest in Dharmashastras due to administrative needs,
and their misinterpretation of them as legal codes rather than as
social and ritual texts, see: Thapar (2002), pp. 2-3.
^ Avari, p. 142.
^ Friedrich Nietzche, The Antichrist (1888), 56-57.
^ Friedrich Nietzche, Twilight of the Idols (1888).
^ Surendra Kumar, Vishuddha Manusmriti, (Arsh Sahitya Prachar Trust,
Delhi, Fourth Edition), p. 5.
^ Revolution and Counter-Revolution in India
^ Romila Thapar, Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, Oxford
University Press (1960) p. 200.
^ John Marshall, "An Historical and Artistic Description of Sanchi",
from A Guide to Sanchi, citing p. 11. Calcutta: Superintendent,
Government Printing (1918). Pp. 7-29 on line, Project South Asia.
^ K. V. Rao, Socialism, Secularism, and Democracy in India, pp. 28-30.
Nagendra K. Singh, Enforcement of Human Rights in Peace and War and
the Future of Humanity, p. 35. Martinus Nijhoff (1986) ISBN
9024733022
^ The Light of Truth, Chapter 4
^ Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter 16 Text 7 - "...Even up to today,
those who are Hindu follow the Manu-samhita..."
^ Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, vol. 1.

References

Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 0-521-43878-0.
Hopkins, Thomas J. (1971). The Hindu Religious Tradition. Belmont,
California: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Keay, John (2000). India: A History. New York: Grove Press. ISBN
0-8021-3797-0.
Kulke, Hermann; Rothermund, Dietmar (1986). A History of India. New
York: Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0-88029-577-5.
Olivelle, Patrick (2005). Manu's Code of Law: A Critical Edition and
Translation of the Mānava-Dharmaśāstra. Oxford: Oxford University
Press. ISBN 0-195-17146-2.
Thapar, Romila (2002). Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300.
Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN
0-520-24225-4.
Translation by G. Bühler (1886). Sacred Books of the East: The Laws of
Manus (Vol. XXV). Oxford. Available online as The Laws of Manu
"The Laws of Manu". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton
Company. 1913. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/The_Laws_of_Manu.
Olivelle, Patrick (2004). The Law Code of Manu. New York: OUP. ISBN
0192802712.
Olivelle, Patrick (to be published). "Dharmasastra: A Literary
History". in Lubin, Timothy; Krishnan, Jayanth; and Davis, Jr., Donald
R.. Law and Hinduism: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Smriti

Hindu
Ramendra Nath

Originally published by Bihar Rationalist Society (Bihar Buddhiwadi
Samaj) 1993.
Electronically reprinted with permission.

I have read and admired Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian.
On the other hand, I have also read and disagreed with M.K.Gandhi's
Why I Am a Hindu. My acquaintance with these writings has inspired me
to write this essay explaining why I am not a Hindu, though I was born
in a Hindu family.

The Meaning of "Hindu"

The word "Hindu" is a much-abused word in the sense that it has been
used to mean different things at different times. For example, some
people even now, at least some times, use the word "Hindu" as a
synonym for "Indian". In this sense of the term, I am certainly a
"Hindu" because I do not deny being an Indian. However, I do not think
that this a proper use of the term "Hindu". There are many Indians
such as Muslims, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians as well as
rationalists, humanists and atheists who do not call themselves
"Hindu" and also do not like to be described as such. It is certainly
not fair to convert them into Hinduism by giving an elastic definition
of the term "Hindu". Besides, it is also not advisable to use the word
"Hindu" in this sense from the point of view of clarity. The word
"Hindu" may have been used in the beginning as a synonym for
"Indian" [1], but, at present, the word is used for people with
certain definite religious beliefs. The word "Hindu" belongs to the
category of words like "Muslim", "Christian", "Buddhist" and "Jain"
and not to the category of words like "American", "British",
"Australian", "Chinese" or "Japanese". There are, in fact, many
Indians who are not Hindus, and on the other hand, there are many
Hindus who are not Indians , for example, those who are citizens of
Nepal, Sri Lanka and some other countries.

In the religious sense, the word, "Hindu" is often used broadly to
include Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs in addition to those who are
described as "Hindu" in this most restricted sense of the term, that
is, the adherents of Vedic or Brahmin religion. For example, the
expression "Hindu" is used in the Hindu law not only for those who are
Hindu by religion but also for persons who are Buddhists, Jains and
Sikhs by religion. This, again, is too broad a definition of "Hindu".
If we consistently use the word "Hindu" in this sense, we will have to
say that Japan is a Hindu country!

The above definition of "Hindu" is clearly inadequate from a
philosophical point of view. Buddhism and Jainism, for instance,
explicitly reject the doctrine of the infallibility of the Vedas and
the system of varna-vyavastha, which are fundamental to Hinduism, that
is, if the term "Hinduism" is used in its most restricted sense.
Therefore, clubbing together Buddhists and Jains or even Sikhs with
those who believe in the infallibility of the Vedas and subscribe to
the varna-vyavastha is nothing but an invitation to confusion.

Though I agree with Buddhism in its rejection of god, soul,
infallibility of the Vedas and the varna-vyavastha, still I am not a
Hindu even in this broad sense of the term "Hindu", because as a
rationalist and humanist I reject all religions including Buddhism,
Jainism and Sikhism. However, in this essay I am concerned with
explaining why I am not a Hindu in the most appropriate sense of the
term "Hindu", that is, the sense in which a person is a Hindu if his
religion is Hinduism in the restricted sense of the term " Hinduism".
In this restricted sense of "Hinduism", Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism
are excluded from its scope. I also maintain that this is, at present,
probably the most popular sense of the term, and every body should, in
the interest of clarity, confine its use, as far as possible, to this
sense only, at least in philosophical discourse.

Radhakrishnan, for example, has used the term "Hindu" and "Hinduism"
in this restricted sense when he says in his The Hindu View of Life
that, "The chief sacred scriptures of Hindus, the Vedas register the
intuitions of the perfected souls." [2] Or, when he says that
"Hinduism is the religion not only of the Vedas but of the Epics and
the Puranas." [3]

Basic Beliefs of Hinduism
Gandhi, too, has used the term "Hindu" in this restricted sense, when
writing in Young India in October, 1921, he says:

I call myself a sanatani Hindu, because,

I believe in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and all that goes
by the name of Hindu scriptures, and therefore in avatars and
rebirth.
I believe in the Varnashram dharma in a sense in my opinion strictly
Vedic, but not in its present popular and crude sense.
I believe in the protection of the cow in its much larger sense than
the popular.
I do not disbelieve in idol-worship. [4]

One may be tempted to ask, at this point, whether all the beliefs
listed by Gandhi are really fundamental to Hinduism. In my opinion,
(I) the belief in the authenticity of the Vedas and (II) the belief in
the varnashram dharma are more basic to Hinduism than the belief in
cow-protection and idol-worship. [5] Though it cannot be denied that,
in spite of attempts by reformers like Kabir, Rammohan Roy and
Dayanand Saraswati, idol-worship is still practiced widely by the
Hindu masses, and there is, at present, a taboo on eating beef among a
large number of Hindus. In any case, I am in a position to establish
the fact of my not being a Hindu by asserting the contradictory of
each of the above statements made by Gandhi:

In other words, I assert that I am not a Hindu, because,

I do not believe in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and all
that goes by the name of Hindu scriptures, and therefore in avatars
and rebirth.
I do not believe in the varnashram dharma or varna-vyavastha either in
the sense in which it is explained in Hindu dharma shastras like
Manusmriti or in the so-called Vedic sense.
I do not believe in the Hindu taboo of not eating beef.
I disbelieve in idol-worship.

However, while explaining why I am not a Hindu, I will concentrate
mainly on (I) the belief in the authenticity of the Vedas, and (II)
the varnashram dharma , which I consider more fundamental to Hinduism.
Besides, in the concluding section of the essay, I will briefly
discuss moksha, which is regarded as the highest end of life in
Hinduism, and some other Hindu doctrines like karmavada and
avatarvada.

The infallibility of the Vedas

First of all, let me explain what do I mean by saying that "I do not
believe in the Vedas", and why I do not do so.

The schools of ancient Indian thought are generally classified by
orthodox Hindu thinkers into two broad categories, namely, orthodox
( astika) and heterodox ( nastika). The six main Hindu systems of
thought -- Mimamsa, Vedanta, Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya and Vaisheshika --
are regarded as orthodox ( astika), not because they believe in the
existence of god, but because they accept the authority of the Vedas.
[6]

Out of the six orthodox systems of Hindu thought, Nyaya system is
primarily concerned with the conditions of correct thinking and the
means of acquiring true knowledge. According to Nyaya system, there
are four distinct and separate sources of knowledge, namely, (i)
perception (ii) inference (iii) comparison, and (iv) testimony or
shabda.

Shabda, which is defined in the Nyaya system as "valid verbal
testimony" is further classified into (i) the scriptural ( vaidika),
and (ii) the secular ( laukika). Vaidika or scriptural testimony is
believed to be the word of god, and therefore, it is regarded as
perfect and infallible .[7]

Mimamsa or Purva Mimamsa, another orthodox Hindu system is "the
outcome of the ritualistic side of the vedic culture". However, in its
attempt to justify the authority of the Vedas, Mimamsa elaborately
discusses different sources of valid knowledge. Naturally enough,
among the various "sources of valid knowledge", Mimamsa pays greatest
attention to testimony or authority, which, too, is regarded by it as
a valid source of knowledge. There are, according to Mimamsa, two
kinds of authority -- personal ( paurusheya) and impersonal
( apaurusheya). The authority of the Vedas is regarded by Mimamsa as
impersonal. [8]

As mentioned earlier, according to Nyaya, the authority of the Vedas
is derived from their being the words of god. But Mimamsa, which does
not believe in the existence of god, declares that the Vedas like the
world, are eternal. They are not the work of any person, human or
divine. The infallibility of the authority of the Vedas, according to
Mimamsa, rests on the "fact" that they are not vitiated by any defect
to which the work of imperfect persons is liable. [9]

Thus, orthodox Hindu schools like Nyaya and Mimamsa regard the
testimony of the Vedas as infallible, though they give different
reasons for doing so. Well-known orthodox Hindu theologians like
Shankar and Ramanuja believed in the authority of the Vedas.
Manusmriti, too, upholds the infallibility of the Vedas. As pointed
out by S.N.Dasgupta, "The validity and authority of the Vedas were
acknowledged by all Hindu writers and they had wordy battles over it
with the Buddhists who denied it." [10]

The point worth noting is that though popularly Hinduism is a theistic
religion, it is not essential to believe in the existence of god for
being an orthodox Hindu -- belief in the authority of the Vedas is
more important.

When I say, "I do not believe in the Vedas", what I mean is that I do
not regard the testimony of the Vedas as a valid source of knowledge.
In other words when I say, "I do not believe in the Vedas", I do not
mean that each and every proposition contained in the Vedas is false.
It is quite possible that one may find a few true statements in the
Vedas after great amount of patient research. But I assert that the
truth or the falsity of a proposition is logically independent of its
being contained or not contained in the Vedas. A proposition is true
if there is a correspondence between the belief expressed by it and
the facts. Otherwise, it is false. So, a proposition contained in the
Vedas might be true, that is, if there is a correspondence between the
belief expressed by it and the facts, but it is, I insist, not true
because it is contained in the Vedas. I categorically reject as
invalid every argument of the form: "The proposition P is contained in
the Vedas. Therefore, the proposition P is true".

Besides, I also assert that some propositions contained in the Vedas
are certainly false. For example, according to Purusha-Sukta of Rig
Veda , Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras originated
respectively from the mouth, hands, thighs and feet of the purusha or
the creator. I categorically reject this statement as false. I
maintain that varna-vyavastha is a man-made social institution and it
has nothing to do with the alleged creator of this world.

I also reject both the reasons put forward in support of the
infallibility of the Vedas. I neither regard them to be "the words of
god" nor I consider them to be eternal and impersonal. I believe that
Vedas were conceived, spoken and written by human beings. The question
of their being "words of god" simply does not arise, because there are
no good reasons for believing in the existence of god. The existence
of an omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent god is totally
inconsistent with the presence of suffering and evil in this world. It
is impossible for god to exist. [11]

Similarly, Vedas could not have come into existence before human
beings appeared on this earth, and before Sanskrit language came into
existence. And there are no good reasons for believing that Sanskrit
language came into existence even before human beings appeared on this
earth!

As far as Gandhi is concerned, though he liked to describe himself as
a sanatani Hindu, he was, in fact, not a completely orthodox Hindu.
For example, in the article quoted earlier in this essay Gandhi goes
on to add, "I do not believe in the exclusive divinity of the Vedas. I
believe the Bible, the Koran, and the Zend-Avesta to be as much
divinely inspired as the Vedas. My belief in the Hindu scriptures does
not require me to accept every word and every verse as divinely
inspired, I decline to be bound by any interpretation, however learned
in may be, if it is repugnant to reason or moral sense. "[12](emphasis
mine)

I seriously doubt that this position will be acceptable to an orthodox
Hindu. In fact, Gandhi's position comes very close to that of
rationalists and humanists when he says that "I decline to be bound by
any interpretation however learned it may be, if it is repugnant to
reason and moral sense". However, since he refused to say in so many
words that he did not believe in the authority of the Vedas, Gandhi
may be described, in my opinion, as a liberal Hindu with an eclectic
approach towards religion. On the other hand, my position is radically
different from that of Gandhi, because I do not consider either the
Vedas or the Bible, the Koran and Zend-Avesta or any other book to be
divinely inspired.

Varna-vyavastha

Before discussing varna-vyavastha or varnashram dharma, let me clarify
in the very beginning that I am not interested in giving my own
interpretation of what varna-vyavastha is or ought to be in its ideal
form. I am interested, firstly, in giving an objective exposition of
varna-vyavastha as contained in recognized Hindu scriptures like Vedas
and dharmashastras like Manusmriti; and secondly, in mentioning my
reasons for rejecting varna-vyavastha. In doing so I will concentrate
on the chaturvarnya (four-fold division of society) aspect of varna-
vyavastha.

We have already noted that the first reference to varna (class based
on birth or caste) is to be found in the Purusha-Sukta of the Rig
Veda . The reference to the four ashrams or stages of life, namely,
Brahmcharya, Garhastya, Vanprashta and Sanyas is to be found in the
Upanishads. These are, in their turn, related to the four purusarthas
or ends of life, namely, dharma (duty), artha (wealth), kama
(satisfaction of sensual desires) and moksha (liberation). Out of
these, the Upanishads attach maximum value to sanyas ashram and moksha
purusartha, which is regarded as the highest end of life. [13]

The system of varnashram dharma is upheld by popular Hindu scriptures
like Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagvat-Gita. In Ramayana, for example,
Ram kills Shambuka simply because he was performing tapasya (ascetic
exercises) which he was not supposed to do as he was a Shudra by
birth. [14]

Similarly, in Mahabharata, Dronacharya refuses to teach archery to
Eklavya, because he was not a Kshatriya by birth. When Eklavya,
treating Drona as his notional guru, learns archery on his own, Drona
makes him cut his right thumb as gurudakshina (gift for the teacher)
so that he may not become a better archer than his favorite Kshatriya
student Arjuna!

The much-glorified Bhagvat-Gita, too, favors varna-vyavastha.[15] When
Arjuna refuses to fight, one of his main worries was that the war
would lead to the birth of varna-sankaras or offspring from
intermixing of different varnas and the consequent "downfall" of the
family. [16] On the other hand, Krishna tries to motivate Arjuna to
fight by saying that it was his varna-dharma (caste-duty) to do so
because he was a Kshatriya. In fact, Krishna goes to the extent of
claiming that the four varnas were created by him only. [17] Thus,
Arjuna's main problem was being born a Kshatriya. Had he been a
Brahmin or a Vaishya or a Shudra by birth, he would have been spared
the trouble of fighting a destructive war. Even the much-applauded
doctrine of niskama karma is nothing but an exhortation to faithfully
perform one's varnashram dharma in a disinterested manner. [18]

The celebrated orthodox Hindu theologian Shankar, too, was a supporter
of varna-vyavastha. According to him, Shudras are not entitled to
philosophical knowledge. [19] However, the most elaborate exposition
of varnashram dharma is to be found in Manusmriti, an important
dharmashastra of Hindus. Let us turn to it in order to have a close
look at the varna-vyavastha.

Manusmriti

In the very first chapter of Manusmriti, it is clearly stated that
Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras were created by Brahma
(creator of this world) from his mouth, hands, thighs and feet
respectively. [20]

Manu claims that the same Brahma, who created this world, also created
Manusmriti and taught it to him. [21]

The duties of the different varnas are also mentioned in the
Manusmriti. The Brahmins were created for teaching, studying,
performing yajnas (ceremonial sacrifices), getting yajnas performed,
giving and accepting dan (gifts).[22] The Kshatriyas were created for
protecting the citizens, giving gifts, getting yajnas performed and
studying. [23] The Vaishyas were created for protecting animals,
giving gifts, getting yajnas performed, studying, trading, lending
money on interest and doing agricultural work. [24] The Shudras were
created by Brahma for serving Brahmins and the other two varnas
without being critical of them. [25]

It is interesting to note that studying, getting yajnas performed and
giving gifts or charity are common duties of Brahmins, Kshatriyas and
Vaishyas; whereas teaching, accepting gifts and performing yajnas are
reserved exclusively for Brahmins. The Shudras, of course, are denied
the rights to study, getting yajnas performed by Brahmins or even
giving gifts to them.

Manusmriti further states that having originated from the mouth of
Brahma, being elder and being the repository of the Vedas; Brahmins
are the masters of the entire universe. [26] Besides, Brahmins alone
act as a sort of post office for transmitting food to the gods and the
dead, that is to say, the gods and the dead eat food through the
mouths of Brahmins (apparently because they do not have mouths of
their own). Therefore, no one can be superior to Brahmins.[27] All
others are said to enjoy everything owing to the Brahmins' mercy.[28]
The Manusmriti clearly states that Brahmins alone are entitled to
teach this dharmashastra and none else. [29]

Manusmriti refers to the Vedas, which are to be regarded as the main
valid source of knowledge about dharma, as shruti and to
dharmashastras as smriti. No one is to argue critically about them
because religion has originated from them. [30] Any nastika (non-
believer) or critic of the Vedas, who "insults" them on the basis of
logic, is worthy of being socially boycotted by "noble" persons. [31]

In short, the main features of chaturvarnya as elaborated in the
Manusmriti are as follows:

1. Division of Hindu society into four varnas on the basis of birth.
Out of these only the first three, namely , Brahmins , Kshatriya and
Vaishya, who are collectively known as dwija (twice-born) are entitled
to upanayan and the study of the Vedas. Shudras as well as women of
dwija varnas are denied the right to study.

2. Assigning different duties and occupations for different varnas.
This is to be enforced strictly by the king. [32] According to
Manusmriti, if a person of lower caste adopts the occupation of a
higher caste, the king ought to deprive him of all his property and
expel him from his kingdom. [33]

3. Treating Brahmins as superior and other varnas, namely, Kshatriya,
Vaishya and Shudra as inferior to him in descending order with the
Shudra occupying the bottom of the hierarchy. A Brahmin is to be
treated as god and respected even if he is ignorant. Even a hundred-
year old Kshatriya is to treat a ten year old Brahmin as his father.
[34] Brahmin alone is entitled to teach. If a Shudra dares to give
moral lessons to a Brahmin, the king is to get him punished by pouring
hot oil in his ear and mouth. [35] Similarly, if a Shudra occupies the
same seat as a Brahmin, he is to be punished by branding his waist
(with hot rod) or getting his buttocks cut! [36]

4. Treating women as unequal. Women, that is, even women belonging to
Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya varna are not entitled to upanayan and
the study of the Vedas. For them, marriage is equivalent to upanayan
and service of their husbands is equivalent to the study of the Vedas
in the gurukul.[37] Even if the husband is morally degraded, engaged
in an affair with another woman and is devoid of knowledge and other
qualities, the wife must treat him like a god. [38] A widower is
allowed to remarry but a widow is not. [39] Besides, women are not
considered fit for being free and independent. They are to be
protected in their childhood by father, in youth by husband and in old
age by son. [40] They should never be allowed by their guardians to
act independently. [41] A woman must never do anything even inside her
home without the consent of her father, husband and son respectively.
[42] She must remain in control of her father in childhood, of husband
in youth and of son after the death of her husband. [43]

5. Treating different varnas as unequal for legal purposes. The Hindu
law as codified by Manu is based on the principle of inequality. The
punishment for a particular crime is not same for all varnas. In fact,
the punishment varies depending on the varna of the victim as well as
the varna of the person committing the crime. For the same crime, the
Brahmin is to be given a mild punishment, whereas the Shudra is to
given the harshest punishment of all. Similarly, if the victim of a
crime is a Shudra, the punishment is mild, and the punishment is harsh
in case the victim is a Brahmin. For example, if a Brahmin is awarded
death sentence, it is sufficient to shave his head, but Kshatriya,
Vaishya and Shudra are to actually die. [44] If a Kshatriya, a
Vaishya, or a Shudra repeatedly gives false evidence in the court, he
is to be punished and expelled from the kingdom, whereas the Brahmin
is not to be punished, he is to be only expelled. [45] If a person has
sexual intercourse with a consenting women of his own varna, he is not
to be punished. [46] But if a person of lower varna has sexual
intercourse with a woman of higher varna, with or without her consent,
he is to be killed. [47] If a Brahmin forces a dwija to work for him,
he is to be punished. [48] But if a Brahmin forces a Shudra to work
for him, whether by making or not making payments to him, he is not to
be punished, because Shudras have been created only for serving
Brahmins.[49] If a Brahmin abuses a Shudra, he is to be fined mildly,
[50] but if a Shudra abuses a Brahmin, he is to be killed. [51] On the
other hand, even if a Brahmin kills a Shudra, he is merely to perform
penance by killing a cat, frog, owl or crow, etc. [52] Thus a Shudra
is to be killed for abusing a Brahmin, whereas a Brahmin is to be let
off lightly even if he kills a Shudra. Such is the unequal justice of
Manusmriti.

In fact, this system of graded inequality seems to be the very essence
of the varna-vyavastha. Whether it is the choice of names, [53] or the
manner of greeting, [54] or the mode of entertaining guests, [55] or
the method of administering oath in the court, [56] or the process of
taking out the funeral procession, [57] at each and every step in
life, from birth to death, this system of graded inequality is to be
applied and observed. Manu does not even spare the rates of interest
on loan. For borrowing the same amount, Kshatriya has to pay more as
interest than Brahmin, Vaishya more than Kshatriya and the poor Shudra
has to pay the maximum amount as interest! [58]

6. Prohibiting inter-marriage between different varnas. According to
Manusmriti, a dwija ought to marry a woman of his own varna.[59] A
woman of the same varna is considered best for the first marriage.
However, a dwija may take a woman of inferior varna as his second wife
if he is overcome by sexual passion. [60] But Manu strongly
disapproves of Brahmins and Kshatriyas taking a Shudra woman even as
their second wife. They become Shudra if they do so. [61]

7. Supporting untouchability is also a part of the scheme of social
stratification outlined in the Manusmriti. Manu clearly mentions that
Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya, collectively known as dwija and the
Shudras are the four varnas. There is no fifth varna.[62] He explains
the origin of other castes by saying that they are varna-sankara
castes, that is to say, castes originating due to the intermixture of
different varnas, both in anuloma (upper varna male and lower varna
female) and pratiloma (lower varna male and upper varna female)
manner. [63] For example, Nishad caste is said to have originated from
anuloma relationship between Brahmin male and Shudra female,[64]
whereas C handala caste is said to be owing its origin to pratiloma
relationship between Shudra male and Brahmin female. [65]

Manu seems to be disapproving of pratiloma relationship more than the
anuloma, because he describes C handalas as the lowest of the low
castes. [66]

Let us see what Manusmriti, has to say about the C handala. The
Chandala, says Manusmriti, must not ever reside inside the village.
While doing their work, they must reside outside the village, at
cremation ground, on mountains or in groves. They are not entitled to
keep cows or horses, etc., as pet animals. They may keep dogs and
donkeys. They are to wear shrouds. They are to eat in broken utensils.
They are to use ornaments of iron, not of gold. They must keep moving
from one place to another, not residing at the same place for a long
duration. [67] They must not move around in villages and cities in
night hours. They may enter the villages and cities in daytime, with
king's permission, wearing special symbols (to enable identification),
and take away unclaimed dead bodies. [68]

Moreover, how is the "religious" person to deal with the Chandala? He
must not have any social intercourse (marriage, interdining, etc.)
with them. He must not talk to or even see them! [69] He may ask
servants (apparently Shudras) to give them food in broken utensils.
[70]

8. Granting divine and religious sanction to varna-vyavastha. Manu
gives divine and religious sanction to the varna-vyavastha by claiming
divine origin for the varnas as well as for the Manusmriti and
demanding unquestioning obedience of it.

So, that completes my exposition of the varna-vyavastha. I want to
emphasize in particular that my exposition does not contain any
exaggeration at all. The reader may check each and every statement by
comparing with the original Manusmriti in order to satisfy himself or
herself. I cannot help if the system is so unjust and so out of tune
with out existing values that even an objective exposition reads like
a severe condemnation. Nevertheless, I will now turn to my reasons for
rejecting varna-vyavastha: I reject varna-vyavastha because it is
irrational, unjust and undemocratic, being opposed to the democratic
and human values of liberty, equality and fraternity.

Criticism of varna-vyavastha
The varna-vyavastha is opposed to the value of liberty as it denies
the freedom to choose one's occupation and marriage partner to one and
all. Everyone must join the occupation of his varna and must marry
within his varna. Similarly, it denies the freedom to study to the
Shudras and woman in particular. Even the dwija must study the Vedas
before he studies anything else. Otherwise, he becomes a Shudra.[71]
(Incidentally, according to Manusmriti, there are several ways by
which a Brahmin or dwija may become a Shudra but there is no way by
which a Shudra may become a Brahmin. A Shudra must always remain a
Shudra.)[72]

What is worse, the Chandala is even denied the freedom to reside at a
place of his choice or to wear clothes and ornaments of his choice. He
is not even free to keep pet animals of his choice.

The conflict between varna-vyavastha and the value of equality is more
than obvious. As I mentioned earlier, the system of graded inequality
seems to be the very essence of varna-vyavastha. It denies equal
respect to all in society. It denies equality before law. It denies
equal access to marriage partners. It denies equal access to jobs. The
occupation of teachers and priests, for example, is reserved
exclusively for Brahmins. Finally, it also denies equal access to
education and knowledge.

A Brahmin, according to Manu, must not teach the Shudra and woman even
if he dies with his knowledge without imparting it to anybody. [73] On
the other hand, if anyone studies the Vedas on his own he or she will
go straight to hell. [74] In other words, cent percent reservations
for dwija males in the sphere of education.

The varna-vyavastha is most unfair to the Shudras and the
untouchables. They are denied respect, knowledge, power and wealth.
They are denied access to occupations considered respectable, just as
they are denied access to men and women of upper varnas for marriage.
The Shudras are virtually reduced to being slaves of the Brahmins in
particular and the dwijas in general, whereas the untouchables are
regarded as outcast -- beyond the pale of the society. The women are
generally treated as sexual objects and as unfit for being independent
and free.

As far as fraternity is considered, we must not expect it to exist in
a society, which is so unequal and unjust. A Shudra's waist is to be
branded or his buttocks are to be cut only because he occupies the
same seat as the Brahmin. The "religious" are not to talk or even look
at a Chandala. Inter-marriage is prohibited. Manu seems to be most
eager to prevent inter-mixing of the varnas. Thus, the Hindu social
order is based on the isolation and exclusiveness of the varnas.

The Manusmriti not only outlines a totally undemocratic and unjust
social system but also gives divine, religious sanction to this man-
made social institution of chaturvarnya. Some Hindus, including
apparently learned "thinkers" and writers, smugly wax eloquent about
Hinduism being the most tolerant and liberal religion of the world.

Is there any other religion, which sanctions slavery and
untouchability? Is there any other religion in which only persons born
in a particular caste ( Brahmin) are entitled to become priests?

Slavery is not peculiar to India or to Hinduism, but carrying it to
the extremes of untouchability, and granting it divine and religious
sanction is peculiar to Hinduism.

Similarly, some Hindus may be tolerant, just as some of them are
intolerant, but Hinduism or Hindu religion is not tolerant at all,
either socially or intellectually. Manusmriti, for example, clearly
says that anybody who argues critically and logically about
dharmashastras ought to be ostracized. [75] Non-believers, including
freethinkers, rationalists and Buddhists, are not to be entertained
respectfully as guests; though, mercifully, they may be given food.
[76] The families of non-believers are destroyed sooner than later
according to Manu. [77] A state with a large number of Shudras and
nastikas soon meets its destruction. [78] Manusmriti is full of
abusive epithets for freethinkers and non-believers. The unorthodox
( nastikas) are sometimes equated with the Shudras, sometimes with the
Chandalas, sometimes with thieves and sometimes with lunatics! [79]
Such is the generosity of Hindu dharma.

Apologies for varna-vyavastha

Let me now consider what the apologists of varna-vyavastha have to say
in its defense.

A standard defense of varna-vyavastha is to say that it is a system of
division of labor. It is easy to grant that division of labor is
essential for any complex society, but it is equally easy to see that
varna-vyavastha is not a system of division of labor based on aptitude
and capability. It is a system of division of labor based on birth .
Besides, it has other associated features such as feeling of
superiority and inferiority, inequality before law, denial of equal
access to knowledge and prohibition against inter-marriage.

What have these features to do with the division of labor?

Division of labor is found in all societies, but varna-vyavastha is
not. Thus, trying to justify varna-vyavastha as division of labor is a
futile exercise.

Another standard defense of the varna-vyavastha is to say that the
system was originally based on aptitude and capability. Whether it was
actually ever so is a subject for historical research. Most probably,
the racial theory of the origin of castes is true. However, even if we
grant for the sake of argument that the varna-vyavastha was originally
based on aptitude and capability, how does it help? We cannot say that
because the system was originally, some time in remote past, based on
aptitude and capability; therefore we ought to gladly suffer the
present system based on birth. It hardly makes any sense at all!

In any case, Manusmriti was most probably written between200 BC and
200 AD [80] and the system as outlined in it is totally based on
birth. Gautam Buddha, who lived in sixth century BC, challenged the
infallibility of the Vedas as well as the varna-vyavastha. There are
several passages in Tripitaka, mainly in Digha Nikaya and Majhima
Nikaya which are "directed against the claims of the Brahmans to be of
different origin from the rest of humanity, born from the mouth of
Brahma, having a hereditary prerogative to teach, guide and
spiritually govern the rest of the society." [81] In Majhima Nikaya
Buddha is quoted as refuting varna-vyavastha on several occasions.
According to Buddha, it is unreasonable to decide one's place and
functions in society on the basis of one's birth in a caste. Buddha is
also quoted as insisting that in the eyes of the law all persons ought
to be treated as equal, irrespective of the caste or varna in which he
or she is born. [82] Thus, it is obvious that even if the system of
varna-vyavastha ever existed in its ideal form -- which is doubtful --
it had already degenerated by the time of Buddha, that is, about 2500
years back.

The most blatant defense of varna-vyavastha, however, is to say that
human beings are born unequal, and, therefore, it is natural and
normal for children to join the occupation of their fathers.
Surprisingly and sadly, no less a person than Gandhi defended varna-
vyavastha in a similar manner.

To quote Gandhi: "I believe that every man is born in the world with
certain natural tendencies. Every person is born with certain definite
limitations which he cannot overcome. From a careful observation of
those limitations the law of varna was deduced. It establishes certain
spheres of action for certain people with certain tendencies. This
avoided all unworthy competition. Whilst recognizing limitations, the
law of varna admitted of no distinction of high and low; on the one
hand it guaranteed to each the fruits of his labors and on the other
it prevented him from pressing upon his neighbor. This great law has
been degraded and fallen into disrepute. But my conviction is that an
ideal social order will only be evolved when the implications of this
law are fully understood and given effect to". [83]

Again, "I regard Varnashrama as a healthy division of work based on
birth. The present ideas of caste are a perversion of the original.
There is no question with me of superiority or inferiority. It is
purely a question of duty. I have indeed stated that varna is based on
birth. But I have also said that it is possible for a shudra, for
instance, to become a vaishya. But in order to perform the duty of
vaishya he does not need the label of a vaishya. He who performs the
duty of a brahman will easily become one in the next
incarnation." [84]

So, varna-vyavastha, according to Gandhi, is a "healthy division of
work based on birth", which takes into account the "natural
tendencies" of human beings and avoids "unworthy competition."

This apparently plausible defense of varna-vyavastha is, in fact, most
unscientific. It is a well-known and scientifically verified fact that
acquired characteristics are not inherited biologically, only genetic
qualities are transmitted from one generation to another. For
instance, carpentry is an acquired characteristic; just as knowledge
of philosophy is an acquired quality. Neither a carpenter's son or
daughter is born with the knowledge of carpentry, nor is a
philosopher's daughter or son born with the knowledge of philosophy.
These are acquired characteristics and, therefore, they cannot be
inherited biologically. If sometimes, though not always, a carpenter's
son becomes a good carpenter or a philosopher's daughter acquires a
good knowledge of philosophy, without being formally initiated into
these disciplines, it is not because they are born with the required
knowledge, but only because of the favorable environment at home,
which enables them to acquire these characteristics. The result could
be different if their places were to be interchanged.

One may say that though the knowledge of carpentry of philosophy in
not inherited biologically, the mental qualities enabling one to
acquire the requisite knowledge is inherited. Some physical and mental
qualities are, no doubt, inherited but this does not mean that parents
and their children are always identical in physical or mental
qualities. It is a well known fact -- anybody can verify this by
careful observation -- that due to different permutations and
combinations of chromosomes and genes offspring of same parents are
not always identical to one another or to their parents. More often
than not, they are different. For instance, one son or daughter of
same parents may be tall and another short. The colors of skin, hair
and eyes may differ likewise. What is true of physical characteristics
is equally true of mental qualities. Thus, a child may or may not have
the mental characteristics, which his father has.

Therefore, it is totally unscientific to forcefully restrict children
to the occupations of their forefathers.

It is true that all human beings are not equal in the sense of being
identical in physical or mental qualities. But it does not follow from
this that they ought to be denied equal opportunity to join a vocation
of their choice or that they ought to be denied equality before law or
equal respect as human beings in the society.

As for "unworthy" competition, how do we know that the competition is
unworthy unless all are, to begin with, given equal opportunity? Take
the example of Gandhi himself. He was a bania by caste. Yet, in spite
of some serious aberrations such as supporting varna-vyavastha based
on birth and linking politics with religion, he performed fairly well
in the role of a national leader. It would have been a great loss for
the nation if in the name of avoiding "unworthy" competition in
politics, Gandhi would have been confined to running a grocery shop.
Similarly, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was born in an "untouchable" caste, but
he played an important role in the drafting of the democratic
constitution of independent India. He also taught in a college for
some time. To use the terminology of varna-vyavastha, he ably
performed the work of a Brahmin.

Is it possible to imagine how many Ambedkars we may have lost by now
owing to the restrictive varna-vyavastha?

As we have noted earlier, varna-vyavastha is a closed system of social
stratification without any scope for upward social mobility. To quote
M. Haralambos, author of a textbook on sociology, "A person belongs to
his parents jati and automatically follows the occupation of the jati
into which he was born. Thus no matter what the biologically based
aptitude and capacities of an untouchable, there is no way he can
become a Brahmin. Unless it is assumed that superior genes are
permanently located in the Brahmin caste, and there is no evidence
that this is the case, then there is probably no relationship between
genetically based and socially created inequality in traditional Hindu
society." [85]

Returning to Gandhi, though Gandhi was opposed to untouchability and
caste, he did not carry his opposition to its logical conclusion.
Inconsistently enough, he continued to support the varna-vyavastha
based on birth. At one stage, he even supported restrictions on
interdining and intermarriage. As he wrote in Young India in 1921,
"Hinduism does most emphatically discourage interdining and
intermarriage between divisions... It is no part of a Hindu's duty to
dine with his son. And by restricting his choice of bride to a
particular group, he exercises rare self-restraint. Prohibition
against intermarriages and interdining is essential for the rapid
evolution of the soul. "[86] (emphasis mine)

Later Gandhi moved away from these orthodox ideas, and started
supporting intercaste marriages. Finally in 1946, he refused to
solemnize any marriage at Sevagram Ashram unless one of the parties
was an untouchable. [87] May be he would also have given up varna-
vyavastha if he had lived longer. That, however, is in the realm of
imagination, the fact is that Gandhi supported varna-vyavastha. It is
worth noting that he invented his own conception of varna-vyavastha,
which, according to him, had nothing to do with the feeling of
superiority and inferiority or with prohibition against intermarriage.
We find here in Gandhi a quaint mixture of conservatism and
reformism.

I would like to dispose of one last objection before concluding this
section. One may say that the Hindu law at present is quite different
from what Manu desired, and presently Hindus in general do not follow
Manu in totality. This is true. The Hindu law at present, for
instance, allows inter-caste marriage and prohibits bigamy and child
marriage. It permits divorce. It also allows widow remarriage and
grants equal rights to daughters in father's property. Nevertheless,
there seems to be a gap between the progressive Hindu law and the
conservative social practices of the Hindus. A majority of Hindu
marriages are still within the caste and very few Hindu women actually
claim or get a share in father's property.

The Indian constitution has rightly made special provisions, such as
reservations in services for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and
other socially and educationally backward classes, to enable them to
enter occupations and positions of power, which had been traditionally
denied to them. No doubt, some upper caste liberal Hindus, too,
support the policy of reservation. But, by and large, the Hindu upper
castes are far from fully reconciled to this progressive step as is
evident from violent and aggressive anti-reservation agitation
spearheaded by upper caste students from time to time. This kind of
reactionary agitation aimed at preserving the present dominance of
upper castes in education and the services enjoys considerable support
and sympathy in the upper caste dominated media as well as the
academia.

On the whole, the Hindu society is yet to fully exorcise the ghost of
Manu. Caste based on birth and untouchability still exist in the Hindu
society, in spite of the fact that untouchability has been abolished
by the Indian constitution. The distribution of education, power and
wealth continues to be uneven in the Hindu society, with the dwijas
being on the top and the Shudras and untouchables being at the bottom.
Teaching is no more an exclusive preserve of Brahmins, but the
occupation of Hindu priests is still fully reserved for Brahmins,
though this fact does not arouse the ire of our fervent anti-
reservationists.

Moksha, Karmavada and Avatarvada

Moksha is traditionally regarded as the highest end of life in Hindu
religion. The "endless cycle of birth and death" is considered a
bondage from which one must attain liberation, that is moksha or
mukti.

This whole concept of bondage and liberation is based on the unproved
assumption of life after death, and the existence of soul ( atma)
which continues to exist apart from the body even after death. In the
famous words of Gita, the soul changes bodies just as human beings
change clothes. [88]

Now, there are no good reasons for believing in the existence of soul
or life after death or rebirth. These beliefs are not at all supported
by incontrovertible scientific evidence. According to S.N. Dasgupta,
"there has seldom been before or after Buddha any serious attempt to
prove or disprove the doctrine of rebirth. The attempts to prove the
doctrine of rebirth in the Hindu philosophical works such as Nyaya,
etc. are slight and inadequate." [89]

However, even before Buddha, Lokayat had disproved the existence of
soul, life after death, rebirth, heaven and hell on an empirical
basis, as these things are never perceived. [90]

Thus, in absence of any evidence to the contrary, it is reasonable to
believe that each one of us has got one and only one life . Once a
person is dead, he is dead for ever. Never to be reborn. Mind,
consciousness, memory and life cannot outlast the destruction of brain
and body. This is the harsh truth; howsoever we may dislike it.

The belief in soul seems to have originated from primitive animism.
[91] If this belief continues to persist, in spite of total lack of
evidence in its support, it is only because of human beings' inability
to come to terms with, or to squarely face, the reality of death. One
likes to believe that one's near and dear ones, who are dead and
finished forever, actually continue to live in some other imaginary
world, and that they will also be reborn one day. One draws comfort
from the thought that one will not die even after death, and continue
to live in some other form. It is paradoxical that, first, the fear of
death and love of life makes one readily accept the belief in the
immortality and rebirth of soul without adequate evidence, and, then,
getting rid of this alleged cycle of birth and death itself becomes
the topmost religious aim! [92]

The problem of getting "released" from the alleged cycle of birth and
death is a pseudo-problem (in the sense that one is trying to get rid
of something which simply does not exist) and moksha is an imaginary
ideal which has nothing to do with the reality. Instead of running
after the imaginary ideal of moksha, it is far better to concentrate
on improving and living well this one and only life, which we have.

Mimamsa, which is an orthodox Hindu school of thought, considers
attainment of heaven ( swarga), instead of moksha, as the highest end
of life. References to heaven and hell are also to be found in the
Manusmriti. The belief in heaven is fairly widespread at popular
level. However, the ideal of the attainment of heaven, too, is based
on unproved assumptions, like life after death and the existence of
heaven, and, therefore, it cannot be accepted.

Another related doctrine is the Hindu belief in karmavada or the so-
called law of karma. According to this doctrine, every human being
gets the fruits of his actions either in the present or in some future
life. Whatever a human being is in his present life is the result of
his own actions in the past life or lives.

This, again, is a totally unverified and unverifiable doctrine based
on the assumption of the "cycle of birth and death". It is only a
convenient tool for explaining away the perceived inequality in human
society. The idea of karma is found in Buddhism and Jainism as well.
However, these religions do not support varna-vyavastha. But in
Hinduism the doctrine of karma, along with the idea of god, has been
used for providing ideological support to the unjust varna-vyavastha
and for making it appear just and fair. In Hinduism the so-called law
of karma merely serves the purpose of legitimizing the unjust varna-
vyavastha by making the Shudras and the "untouchables" meekly accept
their degrading position as a "result of their own deeds" in imaginary
past lives, and by assuring them "better" birth in "next life" if they
faithfully perform their varna-dharma in their present lives. [93] In
this way, this doctrine prevents them from revolting against this man-
made undemocratic system, which has nothing to do with alleged past
and future lives.

Lastly, I come to the Hindu doctrine of avatarvada. According to this
doctrine, whenever religion is threatened in this world, god takes
birth as an avatar to put things back into order. Ram and Krishna, for
example, are popularly regarded as avatars by the Hindus.

Belief in avatarvada, too, is logically unjustifiable and merely makes
one run away from one's own responsibilities. Instead of making
efforts to improve their own condition, those who believe in
avatarvada keep waiting for an avatar to take birth. Since god does
not exist, there is no question of his being born on this earth as an
avatar. (Let me add here that I also do not believe in the truth of
statements like "Jesus is the son of god" or "Mohammed is the
messenger of god".)

Not only I do not regard Ram or Krishna (or anyone else) as an avatar
of god, I also do not regard them as ideal personalities. Ram, as
mentioned earlier, was on upholder, of the varna-vyavastha. His cruel
behavior with Sita, after fighting a destructive war with Ravana to
get her released, is too well known to need recapitulation. [94]

Krishna, on the other hand, is portrayed in the Mahabharata as the
teacher of Bhagvat Gita , a book which expounds untrue and harmful
doctrines like the belief in god and immortal soul, avatarvada,
karmavada, varnashram dharma and the doctrine of moksha.

In Mahabharata Krishna adopts and advocates adoption of unfair means
like lying and deception for achieving one's ends. Obviously, he did
not believe in the doctrine of purity of ends and means. There are
several flaws in the character of Krishna as portrayed in the
Mahabharata, Bhagvat and Harivamsa. These have been ably enumerated by
Dr. Ambedkar in his The Riddle of Ram and Krishna . I refer the
interested reader to this work for a fuller treatment of this subject.
[95]

Conclusion
To conclude, I categorically reject major Hindu religious beliefs
including the doctrine of the infallibility of the Vedas, varnashram
dharma , moksha, karmavada, and avatarvada. I am not an admirer of Ram
and Krishna, and I also do not believe in idol worship or the Hindu
taboo of not eating beef. I support logical and scientific thinking;
and a secular, rational morality based on human values of liberty,
equality and fraternity. Therefore, I am not a Hindu by conviction,
though I am a Hindu by birth.

Endnotes

[1] S. Radhakrishnan, The Hindu View of Life (Bombay: Blackie & Son
(India) Ltd., 1979), p. 12.

[2] Ibid., p. 14.

[3] Ibid., pp. 16-17.

[4] M.K.Gandhi, "Aspects of Hinduism" in Hindu Dharma (New Delhi:
Orient Paperbacks, 1978), p. 9.

[5] Ninian Smart, "Hinduism" in The Encyclopedia of Philosophy (ed. in
chief, Paul Edwards) Vol. IV (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
& The Free Press, 1972), p.1.

[6] S.N.Dasgupta , A History of Indian Philosophy , Vol. 1 (Delhi:
Motilal Banarsidass, 1975), pp. 67-68.

[7] Chatterjee and Datta, An Introduction to Indian Philosophy .

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] S.N.Dasgupta, Op. Cit., p. 394.

[11] I have discussed the question of the existence of god in my small
Hindi book Kya Ishwar Mar Chuka Hai? (Patna: Bihar Buddhiwadi Samaj,
1985, 1995). See, Is God Dead? (An introduction to Kya ishwar mar
chuka hai? ) [Patna: Buddhiwadi Foundation, 1998]

[12] M.K.Gandhi, "Aspects of Hinduism" in Hindu Dharma , pp. 9-10.

[13] A.L.B., "History of Hinduism" in The New Encyclopaedia
Britannica , Vol. 8 (Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1981),
pp. 910-11.

[14] B.R. Ambedkar , Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches,
Vol. 4, Riddles in Hinduism (Bombay: Education Department, Government
of Maharashtra, 1987), p. 332.

[15] Y.Masih, The Hindu Religious Thought (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,
1983), pp. 192-93.

[16] Bhagvad-Gita I: 40,41, 42,43.

[17] B.G. IV: 13.15.

[18] Y.Masih, Op.Cit., p.208, Also see, pp. 224-25.

[19] V.P.Verma, Modern Indian Political Thought (Agra: Lakshmi Narain
Agarwal, 1991), pp. 50-51.

[20] Manusmriti (MS) I: 31.

[21] MS I:58.

[22] MS I:88.

[23] MS I:89.

[24] MS I: 90.

[25] MS I: 91.

[26] MS I: 93, Also see, X: 3.

[27] MS I: 95.

[28] MS I: 101.

[29] MS I: 103.

[30] MS II: 10,13.

[31] MS II: 11.

[32] MS VIII: 410.

[33] MS X: 96. Also see, Kautilya, Arthshastra I: 3, Quoted by J.N.
Farquhar in An Outline of the Religious Literature of India ( Delhi:
Motilal Banarsidass, 1984), p. 44.

[34] MS II: 135.

[35] MS VIII: 272.

[36] MS VIII: 281.

[37] MS II: 67.

[38] MS V: 154.

[39] MS V: 168,157.

[40] MS IX: 3.

[41] MS IX: 2.

[42] MS V: 147.

[43] MS V: 148.

[44] MS VIII: 379.

[45] MS VIII: 123.

[46] MS VIII: 364.

[47] MS VIII: 366.

[48] MS VIII: 412.

[49] MS VIII: 413.

[50] MS VIII: 268.

[51] MS VIII: 267.

[52] MS XI: 131.

[53] MS II: 31,32.

[54] MS II: 127.

[55] MS III: 111,112.

[56] MS VIII: 88.

[57] MS V: 92.

[58] MS VIII: 142.

[59] MS III: 4.

[60] MS III: 12.

[61] MS III: 14,15,16,17,18,19.

[62] MS X: 4.

[63] MS X: 25.

[64] MS X: 8.

[65] MS X: 12.

[66] Ibid.

[67] MS X: 50,51,52.

[68] MS X: 54,55.

[69] MS X: 53.

[70] MS X: 54.

[71] MS II: 168.

[72] MS VIII: 414.

[73] MS II: 113; X: 1.

[74] MS II: 116.

[75] MS II: 11.

[76] MS IV: 30.

[77] MS III: 65.

[78] MS VIII: 22.

[79] MS III:150, 161; IX: 225. From a humanist point of view, there is
nothing wrong in being born as a Shudra or a Chandala, but in the
context of the Manusmriti, these are abusive epithets.

[80] Manusmriti (Varanasi: Chaukhambha Sanskrit Sansthan, 1982), pp.
10-11.

[81]A.K.Warder, Indian Buddhism (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1980),p.
163.

[82] Y.Masih, The Hindu Religious Thought, pp. 336-37.

[83] Nirmal Kumar Bose, Selections from Gandhi ( Ahmedabad: Navajivan
Publishing House, 1972), p. 265.

[84] Ibid., p. 263.

[85] M.Haralambos, Sociology Themes and Perspectives (Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 1980) pp. 27-28.

[86] N.K.Bose, Op.Cit., p. 266.

[87] Louis Fischer, Gandhi (New York: New American Library, 1954), pp.
111-12, Also see, N.K.Bose, Op.Cit., p. 267.

[88] B.G. II: 20-25.

[89] S.N. Dasgutpa, A History of Indian Philosophy , Vol. I, p. 87.

[90] Chatterjee and Datta. An Introduction to Indian Philosophy .

[91] See M.N.Roy, "The Transmigration of Soul" in India's Message
( Delhi: Ajanta Publications, 1982), pp. 4-6.

[92] Probably "the cycle of life and death" is considered "bondage"
because it will presumably lead to death again and again. So,
primarily the doctrine of liberation seems to be a reaction against
death.

[93] "Those whose conduct has been pleasing will quickly attain a
pleasing birth, the birth of a Brahman or a Kshatriya, or a Vaisya;
but those whose conduct has been abominable, will quickly attain
abominable birth, the birth of a dog, or a hog, or an Outcaste."
Brihadaranyaka, quoted by J.N. Farquhar, An Outline of the Religious
Literature of India , p. 34, Also see, S.N.Dasgupta, Op. Cit., p.
363.

[94] See, my "Why I do not want Ramrajya" in Why I am Not a Hindu &
Why I do not want Ramrajya (Patna: Bihar Rationalist Society, 1995).

[95] B.R. Ambedkar, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches ,
Vol. 4, Riddles in Hinduism.

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/ramendra_nath/hindu.html

http://navanavonmilita.wordpress.com/his-masters-voice-sid-harth-3/

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Apr 14, 2010, 8:44:03 AM4/14/10

Caste, Cast in Stone: Sid Harth

Gotra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Part of a series on
Hinduism

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009)

A gotra is the lineage or clan assigned to a Hindu at birth. In most
cases, the system is patrilineal and the gotra assigned is that of the
person's father. Other terms for it are vansh, vanshaj, bedagu,
purvik, purvajan, pitru. An individual may decide to identify his
lineage by a different gotra, or combination of gotras.

According to strict Hindu tradition, the term gotra is used only for
the lineages of Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya varnas[citation
needed]. Brahminical gotra relates directly to the original seven or
eight rishis of the Vedas[citation needed]. Later, the term gotra was
expanded beyond Brahmin[citation needed].

A gotra must be distinguished from a kula. A kula is a set of people
following similar cultural rituals, often worshiping the same divinity
(the Kula-Devata, god of the clan). Kula does not relate to lineage or
caste. In fact, it is possible to change one's kula, based on one's
faith or Iṣṭa-devatā.

It is common practice in preparation for Hindu marriage to inquire
about the kula-gotra (meaning clan lineage) of the bride and groom
before approving the marriage. In almost all Hindu families, marriage
within the same gotra is prohibited, since people with same gotra are
considered to be siblings. But marriage within the kula is allowed and
even preferred.

Shudras also have gotras, and follow them in marriages[citation
needed]. For example a weaver falls under Markandeya gotra. Markandeya
was known be a Maharishi and had 60 sons. Marriages are held within
Markandeya but never in same family name. So, every weaver falls under
one of these gotra. The family name is given by the Brahmin or Guru's
name[citation needed].

Origin of gotra

In Vedic Sanskrit, the word "gotra" originally meant "cow-pen." [1]
Cows were at the time (which time?) the most valuable possession of a
family group, so with time, the term "gotra" began to refer to the
family group who owned a particular pen of cows[citation needed]. The
term was associated eventually with just the family group and its
lineage.

Gotra is the Sanskrit term for a much older system of tribal
clans[citation needed]. The Sanskrit term "Gotra" was initially used
by the Vedic people [citation needed] for the identification of the
lineages. Generally, these lineages mean patrilineal descent from the
sages or rishis in Brahmins, warriors and administrators in Kshatriyas
and ancestral trademen in Vaisyas[citation needed].

The lineage system, either patrilineal or matrilineal, was followed by
the South Asian people. In present-day Hinduism, Gotra is applied to
all the lineage systems. Many Hindu castes have lineages that do not
follow Vedic classification.

A brahmin, though solely eligible to be regarded as such by virtue of
being born of, at the least, A male brahmin and a female Brahmin, or a
female who is seven parts out of eight Brahmin and in no part a Shudra
or non-dwija lineage (Manu-Smriti)[citation needed], must nevertheless
be reborn by the rite of the thread ceremony at an age earlier than
that permissible to the Kshatriya and Vaisya classes and is
traditionally expected to display learning and intellect befitting a
Brahmin[citation needed]. Those born low could become a Brahmin in
their next life[citation needed] by elevating his learning and conduct
and similarly one who had achieved Brahmanical status could be pushed
to a lower strata if his conduct came to demand such
relegation[citation needed]. A Brahmin must be "Re-born" and that is
why he is called "Dwija- twice born".

The case of sage Vishwamitra is the example. Thus the gotra must have
been of the lineage of the learning one chose rather than the lineage
of one's birth. Rama is stated to be the descendant of Ikshwaku, but
the lineage was broken when Kalmashpada got his son through Niyoga of
Vasishta with Kalmashapad's wife Madayanthi, and not through a
biological liaison. Yet Rama is said to be Ikshwaku's descendant and
not of Vasishta. Some claim of a continuous biological linkage with
the moola purusha [or most significant personality] of the Gothra,
where as it need not be the case. Some times, a Gotra is based on the
Guru for the family or one of the ancestors. Many of the Niyogi
Brahmins have descended from a Niyoga liaison, but not a marital
liaison[citation needed].

Marriages and gotras

In a patrilineal Hindu society (most common), the bride belongs to her
father's gotra before the marriage, and to her husband's gotra after
the marriage. The groom on the other hand only belongs to his father's
gotra throughout his life.

Marriages within the gotra ('sagotra' marriages) are not permitted
under the rule of exogamy in the traditional matrimonial system. The
word 'sagotra' is union the words 'saga' + gotra, where 'saga' means
same or similar. People within the gotra are regarded as kin and
marrying such a person would be thought of as incest. The Tamil words
'sagotharan' (brother) and 'sagothari' (sister) derive their roots
from the word 'sagotra'. In communities where gotra membership passed
from father to children, marriages were allowed between maternal uncle
and niece[2], while such marriages were forbidden in matrilineal
communities, like Malayalis and Tuluvas, where gotra membership was
passed down from the mother.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exogamy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incest
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrilineal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayali
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuluva

A much more common characteristic of south Indian Hindu society is
permission for marriage between cross-cousins (children of brother and
sister). Thus, a man is allowed to marry his maternal uncle's daughter
or his paternal aunt's daughter, but is not allowed to marry his
father's brother's daughter. She would be considered a parallel cousin
who is treated as a sister.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-cousin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_cousin

North Indian Hindu society not only follows the rules of gotra for
marriages, but also had many regulations which went beyond the basic
definition of gotra and had a broader definition of incestuousness.[4]
Some communities in North India do not allow marriage with some other
communities on the lines that both the Communities are having
brotherhood.[5]

An acceptable social workaround for sagotra marriages is to perform a
'Dathu' (adoption) of the bride to a family of different gotra
(usually dathu is given to the bride's maternal uncle who obviously
belongs to different gotra by the same rule) and let them perform the
'kanniyadhanam' ('kanni' (virgin) + 'dhanam' (gift)). However, this is
easier said as it would be quite difficult for the bride's father to
watch another man give his daughter's hand away in marriage in his own
presence.

List of gotras

Main article: List of gotras
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gotras

Notes

^ Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon:
http://webapps.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/tamil/recherche?dictionary=mwd&prst=exact&st=gotra
^ http://countrystudies.us/india/86.htm
^ http://neurologyasia.org/articles/20073_015.pdf
^ http://anthro.palomar.edu/marriage/marriage_3.htm
^ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/haryana-panchayat-takes-on-govt-over-samegotra-marriage/491548/

References

Ruegg, D. Seyfort (1976). 'The Meanings of the Term "Gotra" and the
Textual History of the "Ratnagotravibhāga"'. Bulletin of the School of
Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 39, No. 2
(1976), pp. 341–363

External links

Brahmin Sages and Branches (Gotras and Subcastes)
http://www.vedah.net/manasanskriti/Brahmins.html#Brahmin_Sages_and_Branches
gotra http://www.gurjari.net/ico/Mystica/html/gotra.htm
Goelji.com is a community portal of baniyas http://goelji.com/
Marriage Ceremonies http://www.sanathanadharma.com/samskaras/index.htm#VIVAHA
Encyclopedia Britannica
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotra"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotra

List of gotras

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it.
Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions
are available. (March 2010)

The word gotra means "lineage" in the Sanskrit language. While it is
somewhat akin to a family name, the given name of a family is often
different from its gotra, as given names may reflect the traditional
occupation, place of residence or other important family
characteristic rather than gotra.

People belonging to the same gotra also belong to the same caste in
the Hindu social system. But there is a notable exception among
matrilineal Tulu/Malayalee speakers where the lineages are the same
across the castes. For such lists of gotras compounded by caste, refer
to the following:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste

Brahmins:

refer to List of Brahmin gotras http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Brahmin_gotras
Vysyas:

refer to Komati (caste) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komati_(caste)
Velamas:

refer to Velama (caste) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velama_(caste)
Dhangars:

refer to List of Dhangar clans in India
Gurjars:

refer to List of Gujjar clans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dhangar_clans_in_India
Kammas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamma_(caste)
Khatris:

Hindu gotras

Sawarna (The highest ranked gotra among Brahimns)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawarna_(The_highest_ranked_gotra_among_Brahimns)

Bhardwaj http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharadwaj
Agastya http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agastya
Angirasa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angiras_(sage)
Atri http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atri
Bhrigu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhrigus
Kashyapa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashyapa
Vasistha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasistha
Vishvamitra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishvamitra
Pamidikula
Grandhisila
Dosodia
Siwal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siwal
Serawat
Haritasa హరితస

External links

Oswal Vansh and its gotras http://www.shriosiyamataji.org/osvansh.html

http://www.salagram.net/sstp-Gotras.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gotras

Category:Indian castes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The main article for this category is Indian caste system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_caste_system

[−] Indian castes
[+] Agarwal
[+] Ahluwalia
[+] Arora clans
[+] Bania communities
[+] Brahmins
[+] Bunts
[+] Dalit
[+] Dalit community
[+] Ezhava
[+] Goud
[+] Kak
[+] Kayastha
[+] Khatri clans
[+] Kshatriya
[+] Labana
[+] Maratha clans
[+] Mogaveeras
[+] Mohyal
[+] Ror
[+] Weaving communities of South Asia

Contents: Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T
U V W X Y Z

(previous 200) (next 200)

Subcategories

This category has the following 18 subcategories, out of 20 total.

[+] Agarwal (1 C, 10 P)
[+] Ahluwalia (4 P)
[+] Arora clans (6 P)

[+] Bania communities (25 P)
[+] Brahmins (3 C, 30 P)
[+] Bunts (2 P) D
[+] Dalit (6 C, 64 P)
[+] Dalit community (3 C, 9 P)

[+] Ezhava (33 P)

[+] Goud (3 P)

[+] Kak (5 P)
[+] Kayastha (10 P) K cont.
[+] Khatri clans (180 P)
[+] Kshatriya (3 C, 92 P)

[+] Labana (9 P)

[+] Maratha clans (11 P)
[+] Mogaveeras (7 P)
[+] Mohyal (8 P)

Pages in category "Indian castes"

The following 182 pages are in this category, out of 303 total.

This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).

24 Manai Telugu Chettiars

Achari
Adaviyar
Adisaivar
Agamudaya Mudaliar
Agrawal
Ahluwalia
Aitch (Aich)
Aiyarika Patrulu
Alavan
Ambalavasi
Ambashtha
Ambat Sivarama Menon
Anjana Chaudhari
Anuppan
Arayan
Ashtagrama Iyer

Babboor Kamme
Bachara
Bais Rajput
Balija
Bangar (caste)
Bania (caste)
Banjara
Barnwal
Barwar (caste)
Bhaiband
Bhatnagar
Bhishti
Bhumihar
Billava
Boyar (caste)

Candala

Template:Caste Groups of India (Isai Vellalar)
Template:Caste Groups of India (Kongu Vellalar)
Template:Caste Groups of India (Vellalar)
Chakkala Nair
Chakyar
Chamar
Chandala
Channar
Chekavar
Chettiar
Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin
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List of Gouds

List of Gurjars

Guradikapu

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Holar (people)

User:ISKapoor/sandbox4
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Jogi Faqir
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Kachhi (caste)
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List of Kammas

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List of Kapus
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Kashmiri Muslim tribes from Hindu Lineage
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List of Kayasthas
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K cont.

Khandelwal
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List of Mudaliars
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Subcategories

This category has the following 2 subcategories, out of 20 total.

[+] Ror (20 P)

[+] Weaving communities of South Asia (10 P)

Pages in category "Indian castes"
The following 121 pages are in this category, out of 303 total. This

list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).

Murao
Muslim Dhobi
N
Nadan (Nadar subcaste)
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Nambiar (Nair subcaste)
Randu illom vargam
Randuthara Achanmār
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Perike
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Pillai (title)
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Qassab

Rai (Indian)
Rai Bhat
Rajputs of Gujarat

R cont.

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User:Ravinder121
Reddy
Ror

Tamil Padam Nair http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Padam_Nair
Telaga http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telaga
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Telugu castes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telugu_castes

T cont.

Unnithan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unnithan
Uppara http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uppara
Urali gounder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urali_gounder

Vaishya Vani http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaishya_Vani
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List of Yadavs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Yadavs
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Yerukala http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerukala

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_system_in_India

http://navanavonmilita.wordpress.com/caste-cast-in-stone-sid-harth-2/

navanavonmilita

unread,

Apr 14, 2010, 3:53:03 PM4/14/10

Horseplay in Harappa: Sid Harth

Mumbai, April 14, 2010
BJP protests outside German Consulate
Staff Reporter

Leaders and supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party staged a protest
outside the German Consulate office here on Tuesday, condemning the
recent remarks made against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi by a
visiting German delegation.

The delegation of five MPs from the country's ruling coalition
Christian Democratic Union had endorsed the European Union decision
not to grant Mr. Modi a visa.

The agitators said the delegation, which had gone to Gujarat to assess
the condition of minorities there, called Mr. Modi “a dictator.” It
also commented on the Anti-conversion Bill passed by the State
legislature.

Party supporters raised slogans decrying the German Republic. A
delegation including Mumbai BJP president Gopal Shetty, the former
Union Minister Ram Naik, the former State Minister Raj K. Purohit and
Atul Shah met Consul-General Walter Spechel.

In a memorandum, they demanded “an unqualified apology from the German
Republic for hurting the sentiments of the people of India.”

Keywords: German delegation, Narendra Modi, BJP

TOPICS: Maharashtra, Mumbai, unrest, conflicts and war, emonstration

Comments:

The "over-freedom" given to certain elements have created terror cells
all over the world especially Europe. It is in the wake of money based
religious conversion that Gujarat ruled against conversions. It is not
a question of freedom, but one that reflects the pressures in
terrorism prevention. Germany housed and fed the World Trade bomber
Mohammed Atia for many months. They should have known! Further as I
understand, there is visible racism in parts of Germany, much more
than any other European nation. Perhaps an Indian delegation should
visit Germany.

from: B J Krishnan
Posted on: Apr 14, 2010 at 08:46 IST

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article396663.ece

NEW DELHI, April 12, 2010 German govt. must apologise: BJP
Aarti Dhar

For making adverse remarks against Gujarat Chief Minister

The BJP on Sunday demanded an apology from the German government for
“provocative” statements made by its Parliamentary delegation.
“Tarnishing of the image of a democratically elected Chief Minister by
visiting German officials is unacceptable,” it said.

A release issued by Vijay Jolly, joint convener, foreign cell of the
BJP, said the party would hold a demonstration outside the German
mission here on Monday.

The delegation, whose visit was supported by ‘Missio,' a Christian
Catholic Bishops Agency, had gone to Gujarat, it said.

The German lawmakers had raised an objection to the new anti-
conversion law of the State government saying it had made conversions
difficult, the release claimed.

It termed the act of the delegation “unfriendly” and said various BJP
leaders would take part in the demonstration and submit a memorandum
to the German ambassador.

The delegation members, who had visited Gujarat to study the status of
the minorities, reportedly justified the European Union's decision not
to grant visa to Mr. Modi.

“The Chief Minister of Gujarat has a radical tone to his politics and
is described as dictatorial. He has a wrong perception of religious
freedom,” members of the Christian Democratic Union of the ruling
coalition of Germany reportedly told the media during their visit to
Ahmedabad on April 8.

The next day Mr. Modi wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
demanding an apology from the delegation.

Keywords: BJP, German government, Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra
Modi

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article394462.ece

GANDHINAGAR, April 11, 2010
Modi issue: ‘Centre must take it up with Germany'
Manas Dasgupta

The reported clarification by the German embassy in Delhi washing its
hands of the Narendra Modi controversy, has failed to assuage the hurt
feelings of the Gujarat Chief Minister.

An official spokesman of the State government here on Saturday said
the Central government should take up the matter with the German
government “more seriously” and lodge a strong protest against such
uncharitable remarks against an elected Chief Minister of a State.

An unofficial delegation of the German parliamentarians on a visit to
India reportedly stated on Thursday that Mr. Modi was persona non-
grata in the European Union countries and Germany also supported the
denial of visa to Mr. Modi to visit these countries for his alleged
role in the 2002 pogrom in the State. The German embassy, however,
reportedly informed the External Affairs Ministry that it was an
unofficial team and its views was not necessarily shared by the German
government.

The official spokesman of the State government, however, remarked that
such uncharitable remarks could not be taken lightly. Mr. Modi himself
had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking Central
intervention to get an apology from the German embassy.

The government spokesman said while the State government had been
appreciative of freedom of expression, it viewed the remark as a
“systematic attempt to malign the image of the State.” He said had
similar incidents had taken place in any other country, “these people
would have found themselves behind the bars.”

The spokesman demanded that the delegation members either apologise or
issue a clarification in the case that they had been misquoted.

Mr. Modi was denied visa by the U.S. in 2005 and again last year due
to his alleged role in 2002 riots.

Keywords: Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, German embassy, visa

Comments:

You are either ignorant of facts or are intentionally malicious in
your reporting.

The quote "Mr. Modi was denied visa by the U.S. in 2005 and again last
year due to his alleged role in 2002 riots." is untrue. Last year the
US State Department issued an uncalled for clarification that Modi was
not issued a visa when he had not even applied for it. Visa could not
have been denied last year if it was not even applied for.

Modi is doing well as the Best CM of Gujarat, and for that matter,of
India - from among all present & past CMs of ALL states combined. That
is with, without and in spite of any visa denials.

from: Dhananjay
Posted on: Apr 11, 2010 at 03:49 IST
Modi needs to be congratulated for becoming famous in USA and European
Union, but for the wrong reasons. His involvement in Gujarat riots is
so conclusive yet he has refused to resign. Both USA and EU had
refused visa for his involvement in the riots. German delegation
perception cannot be dictated by Modi or India. Just because he has
been elected does not absolve him of his crime. Modi and Gujarat are
not one. If visa is refused to Modi it does not mean Gujarat's image
is tarnished.

from: V.Narayanaswamy
Posted on: Apr 11, 2010 at 12:35 IST
CM Narendra Modi is an elected head of Indian state just like ex. PM
Rajiv Gandhi. There were action & reaction and many people died in
Rajiv's PM time and also Narendra CM time. Nobody anywhere globally
has any right / justification to declare Modi as persona non grata or
in Rajivs time Rajiv as persona non grata. An apology is due no
mattter any personal or official status of any person / group /
country.

from: Rajesh Bhai
Posted on: Apr 11, 2010 at 15:35 IST

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article394002.ece

New Delhi, April 14, 2010 IPL Kochi: Modi offered $50 million as bribe
PTI

The Hindu IPL Commissionner Lalit Modi.

In a new twist to the controversy over the Kochi franchise, its owner
Rendezvous Sports on Wednesday alleged that IPL Commissioner Lalit
Modi had offered a $50 million bribe to withdraw from the race,
prompting him to threaten legal action.

“We were offered $50 million by Modi to withdraw from the Kochi team”
Shailendra Gaikwad, CEO of the franchise, alleged within hours of Mr.
Modi telling reporters that there was a question mark over the owners
of the new team, secured by a bid of Rs. 1,533 crore last month.

Modi to take legal action

Terming as “rubbish” the charges, Mr. Modi told PTI: “Are they mad.
Who will offer them Rs. 200 crore. I will take legal recourse.”

Asked when he would initiate the legal action, he said “I am awaiting
the clippings (in which Mr. Gaikwad had made allegation that Mr. Modi
wanted their bid to be withdrawn). Once I have that, I will serve them
legal notice... possibly on Thursday.”

Deliberately made to go through a 'tough time'

Hours after Mr. Modi told a press conference that there was a question
mark over the owners of the Kochi franchise, Mr. Gaikwad hit back at
the IPL Commissioner saying that they were being deliberately made to
go through a “tough time” because they refused the offer.

“We went through the process in the right manner and won the bid. But
within 10 days of winning the bid, Mr. Modi offered us $50 million to
give away the rights of the IPL franchise,” Mr. Gaikwad told PTI.

Mr. Gaikwad said that the franchise was being targeted because it
outbid some big business houses whom Mr. Modi wanted to rope in for
the subsequent editions of IPL.

“We are being put to an unnecessary process and the reasons are
obvious. If we did not have all the papers in place how could we win
the bid. It is unfair now to make us go through these problems,” he
said.

Mr. Modi, on the other hand, wondered as to “why I will offer them the
money... the bid had gone for a good sum,” and dared Mr. Gaikwad to
prove the allegations.

“Today they are saying $50 million. Tomorrow they may say some
different figures,” he said adding that every communication and
conversations, including that of Mr. Tharoor wherein the Union
Minister asked him not to identify the owners, was recorded in the
meeting.

Allegations from Rendezvous, which has given a 18 per cent share of
its 25 per cent equity in Kochi Team to Sunanda Pushkar — a friend of
Mr. Tharoor, came within days of Mr. Modi divulging the names of
stakeholders in Kochi Team, a tweet that led to a public spat between
the Union Minister and IPL official.

Keywords: Tharoor-Modi spat, Kochi franchise, Shashi Tharoor

http://beta.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article397377.ece

Mumbai, April 14, 2010 Question mark over Kochi IPL owners, says Modi
PTI

IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi addresses a press conference in Mumbai on
Wednesday. Photo: Shashi Ashiwal
“Even those who presented the bid documents do not know who they are”

Unfazed by Shashi Tharoor's counter-attack, Indian Premier League
Commissioner Lalit Modi on Wednesday maintained that there was a
question mark over the owners of the IPL Kochi franchise.

In the midst of a raging controversy in which the Minister of State
for External Affairs has been drawn into, Mr. Modi told a press
conference here that he would call a meeting of the IPL Governing
Council after April 25 and discuss the issue.

“As regards all earlier franchisees we know who the owners are. They
come, they attend conferences and meetings but as far as the Kochi IPL
is concerned we had a question mark.

“Even those who presented the bid documents do not know who they
[owners] are,” he said, in reply to questions over the Kochi team
ownership, following a controversy that Mr. Tharoor's friend, Sunanda
Pushkar, has got a free equity of 19 per cent valued at about Rs. 70
crore in the consortium that owns the team.

Replying to a question, Mr. Modi said that in the case of eight teams
already in the IPL, everybody knew who the shareholders were but in
the case of Kochi even the shareholders did not know.

Calling it a “small issue, nevertheless an issue,” Mr. Modi said, “We
will deal with it.”

To a question about his interest in the Rajasthan Royals team, he
said: “I have no hidden agenda or hidden stake.”

Asked if the latest controversy has affected him, he said, “No,
nothing.”

To seek details

Mr. Modi earlier told PTI that it was a job to seek the details of
every shareholder and authenticate the shareholding of every
franchisee.

“It is my job as Chairman of the IPL to seek [the] details and
authenticate the shareholding of every franchise...how would I
otherwise know where the money is coming from,” Mr. Modi said in reply
to Mr. Tharoor who accused him of impropriety, by divulging the
details of the shareholding of the Kochi franchise.

Wondering why any third party (Mr. Tharoor), which is not a
shareholder in any of the franchise, should be exercised about IPL
seeking details, Mr. Modi said he did not know who Ms. Pushkar was
till he read about her in the newspapers.

Ms. Pushkar was given 19 per cent of the 25 per cent equity held by
Rendezvous Sports World in the Kochi franchise.

The cash-rich IPL, which has become a billion-dollar revenue entity in
the third season this year, had auctioned the Kochi and Pune
franchisees to Rendezvous and Sahara last month for a total of about
Rs. 3,200 crore.

Mr. Modi, who has been credited with the success of the IPL, also
wondered why Ms. Pushkar should be given free equity and asked
“whether she is bringing any value?”

‘Call has been minuted’

Questioning Mr. Tharoor making a phone call to the IPL for not
disclosing the identity of shareholders of Rendezvous, he said: “His
call has been minuted and the entire conversation has been minuted by
IPL.”

For transparency

He said his main concern was always to find out the sources of money
and the identity of the shareholders, to maintain transparency in IPL
and keep it above board, particularly on account of the huge money
involved.

Asked about the Board of Control for Cricket in India president
Shashank Manohar's reaction on the Kochi issue, Mr. Modi said: “I will
not comment on the issue, particularly when it is our internal matter.
I will give a suitable reply.”

Keywords: Kochi franchise, IPL, Lalit Modi, Shashi Tharoor, Sunanda
Pushkar

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article397201.ece

New Delhi, April 13, 2010 Tharoor abused office, says BJP
Special Correspondent

The Hindu BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad at a party meeting in
Lucknow. File Photo: Subir Roy
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday charged Union Minister of State
Shashi Tharoor with having abused his office to obtain a pecuniary
advantage in pushing the Kochi franchise for the Indian Premier
League, while the Congress changed its earlier stand to say Mr.
Tharoor himself should explain.

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad demanded here that Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh take note of the scandal and “sack” Mr. Tharoor, who
should not continue in the government for a moment more. A CBI inquiry
must be ordered. This was a “copybook case of corruption” as Section
13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act clearly defined criminal
conduct as one misusing public office to a obtain pecuniary advantage
for oneself “or any other person.” In this instance, the other person,
Sunanda Pushkar, was an acknowledged friend of Mr. Tharoor, Mr. Prasad
said.

On Tuesday afternoon, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed put up some
sort of a defence, pointing out that no one could find fault with Mr.
Tharoor for taking interest in bringing an IPL team to Kochi. He
described the demand for the Minister's resignation or “sacking” as
“absurd.” However, by evening, his senior colleague Janardan Dwivedi
took the line that it was for Mr. Tharoor to “explain” the entire
matter. The party had nothing to do with the controversy.

The Congress adopted a “wait and watch” policy as senior partymen
looked for signals from the high command. They said the matter was
sure to explode as a number of high ranking politicians were involved
with the IPL. Privately, they also said that while Mr. Tharoor's
earlier “tweets” could be explained away as slips of the tongue, this
controversy was far more serious. Doubts were being expressed whether
he would be able to get out of it. While Mr. Prasad was aggressive in
his demand for an inquiry, he objected to any “fishing or roving”
probe into the entire gamut of IPL affairs that would reveal the stake-
holding pattern in the IPL teams from Kolkata, Rajasthan, Punjab or
Chennai.

Mr. Prasad said the BCCI and the IPL were private bodies and there was
no need for a broad inquiry into their business affairs. However, if a
full probe into the IPL affairs were to be ordered, “we will not
object.”

Mr. Prasad admitted that many leaders of the BJP were involved in
cricket and the IPL as were leaders from other parties. Asked whether
he favoured the BCCI coming under the Right to Information Act, his
response was, “Why not? This is a suggestion.”

Keywords: IPL controversy, Lalit Modi, Shashi Tharoor, BJP, Ravi
Shankar Prasad, corruption

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article396200.ece

New Delhi, April 13, 2010 Let CBI probe Tharoor’s stakes: plea in
court
J. Venkatesan

“Minister allegedly used official position to get Kochi IPL team for
Rendezvous”

The Supreme Court has been moved for a CBI probe into alleged proxy
stakes of Union Minister of State for External Affairs Sashi Tharoor
in the Kochi-based Rendezvous Sports World Ltd.-led consortium that
won the bid for an Indian Premier League team for Rs 1,533-crore.

Advocate Ajay Agrawal, who filed this petition, said the court could
alternatively order a probe by a special investigation team. He said
he would make a mention on April 15 for early listing of the case.

The petitioner said the Minister allegedly used his official position
to get the Kochi IPL team for the consortium led by Rendezvous, a
company in which, according to reports, Sunanda Pushkar had 19 per
cent free stakes. Mr. Agrawal said she was the Minister's friend, and
he had a reasonable apprehension that hawala and black money might
have also played a big role in the Kochi IPL team obtaining the
franchise.

Mr. Tharoor already issued a statement which said: “A consortium led
by Rendezvous was set up to bid for an IPL team. They approached me
for help and guidance. I steered them towards Kerala. Rendezvous
includes a number of people, including many I have never met, and Ms.
Sunanda Pushkar, whom I know well. My role in mentoring the consortium
included several conversations with Mr. Lalit Modi [IPL chairman], who
guided us through the process and presented himself as a trusted
friend.”

On his interests in the franchise, the Minister said: “I repeat that I
am proud to have helped the consortium come to Kerala. I have neither
invested nor received a rupee for my mentorship of the team.”

Keywords: IPL row, controversy, Shashi Tharoor, Lalit Modi, Kochi
franchise, Rendezvous Sports World

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article396286.ece

NEW DELHI, April 13, 2010 BJP wants Shashi Tharoor sacked as IPL row
hots up
Neena Vyas
K. Balchand

PTI File photo shows Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi
Tharoor with his friend Sunanda Pushkar at an event. Allegations have
surfaced that Pushkar received a “free” equity of the Kochi team of
the IPL worth about Rs. 70 crore.
A Molotov cocktail of cricket and politics on Tuesday threatened to
explode the underbelly of the multi-billion rupee Indian Premier
League, with the battle lines drawn between Union Minister of State
Shashi Tharoor and IPL commissioner Lalit Modi.

After allegations surfaced that the Kerala team mentor, Mr. Tharoor's
acknowledged friend Sunanda Pushkar received a “free” equity of the
Kochi team of the IPL worth about Rs. 70 crore, the BJP jumped into
the arena, demanding that Mr. Tharoor be sacked as it was a “copybook
case of corruption.” Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad sought a
CBI probe.

While the issue has been taken to court, the Congress seemed to be
caught off guard, changing its stance from the defensive to cautious,
aware of the start of the second part of the budget session in a
couple of days.

Initially, its defence was limited to the legitimacy of Mr. Tharoor
helping Kerala get an IPL team. But by evening, the party adopted a
hands-off attitude, saying it was for Mr. Tharoor to “explain
himself.”

In the morning, Board of Control for Cricket in India spokesperson
Rajiv Shukla and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna met Congress
president Sonia Gandhi. Mr. Shukla said the Tharoor matter was not
discussed.

Mr. Tharoor, meanwhile, took on Mr. Modi, charging him with wanting to
cancel the Kerala IPL to take it elsewhere and committing an
“extraordinary breach of propriety” by disclosing confidential
information on the Kerala consortium's composition.

Simultaneously, Mr. Shukla said BCCI president Shashank Manohar
decided to call a meeting of the IPL governing council within 10 days.
Mr. Manohar charged Mr. Modi with “unbecoming” conduct as he had
raised serious issues on Twitter, rather than discussing them at a
meeting of the governing council.

Vivek Venugopal, co-owner, Kochi IPL franchise, demanded that
shareholdings of consortiums that have stakes in Punjab Kings XI,
Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals be disclosed.

Keywords: Indian Premier League, IPL, Shashi Tharoor, Lalit Modi,
Sunanda Pushkar

Comments:

The way shareholder structure was released into twitter doesnt make
sense at all. If its a public information, then why the public is not
seeing any such things on other ipl team ownership's shareholder
percentages. If Taroor knows one of the shareholders, i cant see why
its a big issue, particularly when we have ways to track if he is
going to gain anything monetarily now or down the line. I think Kochi
like franchise will lead to more exposure for small town kids, a real
way of cricket expansion. Didnt expect this behaviour from a high
profile corporate guy.

from: craig
Posted on: Apr 14, 2010 at 06:14 IST
BJP is trowing arrow in dark and expecting they will get some frame
they should know the histroy of the person and then comment ...if not
people will take there words lightly ....

from: pavan
Posted on: Apr 14, 2010 at 15:23 IST

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article396478.ece

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, April 14, 2010
Rendezvous alleges breach of trust by Lalit Modi
A. Vinod

Files complaint with BCCI, asking it to instruct Modi to retract his
statements

The controversy over the ownership of the Kochi IPL consortium seemed
to assume the scale of a bitter war on Tuesday, with team franchisee
Rendezvous Sports World filing a complaint with the Board of Control
for Cricket in India (BCCI), alleging breach of trust by IPL chairman
and commissioner Lalit K. Modi.

“It is unfortunate to note that Mr. Modi himself has disclosed various
vital aspects of the contract on Monday evening,” the complaint,
written by co-owner of the franchise Vivek Venugopal to BCCI president
Shashank Manohar, said.

The letter said: “Information disclosed include shareholding pattern
of the consortium as well as shareholding patterns of various
participating consortium member companies. Please note that Mr. Modi
has not disclosed such information for the other nine teams
participating in the league. In addition, we have been seeing various
remarks by Mr. Modi questioning the capability and the intentions of
this consortium.

“As a consortium, we have abided by the terms and conditions of the
bid document and franchise agreement in letter and in spirit.
Behaviour and actions as conducted by Mr. Modi brings complete
disrespect to the sport, the IPL league, as well as to the sanctity of
the bidding process.”

The letter, which cited the confidentiality clause in the franchise
agreement, sought Mr. Manohar's immediate intervention. “On behalf of
the consortium, I sincerely request you to immediately instruct Mr.
Modi to retract his statements… and apologise for the communications
given in the media. We, as a consortium, are also contemplating legal
action against Mr. Modi for his irresponsible behaviour, which brings
disrepute to his office,” it said.

Modi's tweet

On Monday, within 17 minutes, Mr. Modi used popular social networking
platform Twitter to reveal details, including the stock options held
by the members of the consortium that won the bid for the Kochi
franchise of the IPL at the March 21 auction in Chennai.

He started with the tweet, “A lot of you are asking about the
shareholders and events surrounding the Kochi team. I am compiling a
note shortly and will put out a press release soon.” He went on to
add: “Twenty five per cent of Kochi team is given free to Rendezvous
Sports for life. The same equity is non-dilutable in perpetuity. What
does that mean? Why? Wait.” He then tweeted again: “Will disclose
those details soon.”

Keeping his promise, he then quite dramatically wrote: “Who are the
shareholders of Rendezvous? And why have they been given this 100s of
million dollars bonanza? Kochi shareholders are Rendezvous 25 per cent
[free]; Rendezvous 1 per cent; Anchor 27 per cent; Parinee 26 per
cent; Film Waves Combine 12 per cent; Anand Shyam 8 per cent; Vivek
Venugopal 1 per cent.”

He went on to reveal more: “Rendezvous free equity – held by Kisan,
Shailendra and Pushpa Gaikwad, Sunanda Pushkar, Puja Gulati, Jayant
Kotalwar, Vishnu Prasad, Sundip Agarwal.”

Minutes later, Mr. Modi tweeted again in reply to a query from a
fellow tweeter. “A big? I was told by him not to get into who owns
Rendezvous. Especially Sunanda Pushkar. Why? The same has been minuted
in my records.”

Keywords: Shashi Tharoor, Lalit Modi, Sunanda Pushkar, Rendezvous
Sports World, Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI

Comments:

Modi's rash and irresponsible action on the Kerala IPL issue has to be
viewed in two contexts. 1) the perpetual snub the south attitude by
the IPL and BCCI at large and 2) Modi's personal despair in not being
able to grant the franchise to his preferred groups. He has to be
legally pulled up and made obliging to disclose the shareholding
details of all the IPL teams. Why should only KERALA IPL be an open
book while the all the remaining dwells in murky darkness!

from: K.P. Prashanth
Posted on: Apr 14, 2010 at 13:04 IST

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article396455.ece

New Delhi, April 14, 2010 Tharoor meets Pranab, Antony
PTI

PTI Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor arrives at
the residence of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for a meeting, in
New Delhi on Wednesday. Related

Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on
Thursday night met Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence
Minister A .K. Antony as the controversy surrounding him in the IPL
snowballed with the Opposition demanding his dismissal.

Mr. Tharoor, who earlier in the evening ruled out his resignation on
the IPL issue saying he had not done anything wrong or misused office,
met the two ministers at Mr. Mukherjee's residence for nearly an hour
after which he left without speaking to waiting media persons.

No official word

There was no official word on the meeting but Mr. Tharoor is believed
to have explained his version of his role in mentoring the IPL Kochi
bid that has triggered a massive controversy over alleged misuse of
his office.

The meeting came after the Congress Core Group headed by party chief
Sonia Gandhi met to discuss the strategy in Parliament on the eve of
resumption of the Budget Session.

Both the BJP and Left parties have demanded his dismissal. The BJP-led
NDA met in the evening and demanded action against him under the
Prevention of Corruption Act.

Keywords: Shashi Tharoor, Lalit Modi, Pranab Mukherjee, A.K. Antony,
IPL row, IPL Kochi, Rendezvous Sports, Sunanda Pushkar

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article397463.ece

New Delhi, April 14, 2010 Tharoor rules out resignation
PTI

PTI A file photo of Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar.

Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday
ruled out resigning from the government and rejected charges that he
had misused his office or indulged in corruption in IPL Kochi team’s
bid.

“Have I done anything wrong to resign. When you have done nothing
wrong....it seems to me it means that you are giving more importance
to other people’s perception.

“I am not going to resign. Obviously I am not going to be an
embarrassment to the Congress Party. These are false and motivated
charges levelled by business interests of some vested interests,” he
told NDTV.

Mr. Tharoor said he has sought an appointment with Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh when he comes back from abroad to explain his side of
the story. “I will certainly be conveying my story to the Prime
Minister,” he said adding he would also meet the Congress President.

Asked if he expected the controversy to figure in Parliament, he said
“this may be one more issue in Parliament which he respects”. He would
be going to Parliament in the spirit of a “worshipper“.

The Minister said he was extremely sad and found it deeply offensive
that that he was being “vilified and accused” of making pecuniary
gains and his integrity and honesty being questioned.

“I have quit a UN job with a good salary for the salary of a minister
in the government and find it extremely upsetting (that charges have
been made),” he said.

Mr. Tharoor said he is one person who was somewhat upfront and
transparent and suddenly found charges being levelled against him.

Asked about the Opposition charge that he had misused his office as
Minister to get gains for his friend Sunanda Pushkar and telephoned
Lalit Modi not to seek details in this regard, he said why would he as
a minister indulge in corruption in such an open manner to help a
friend.

Keywords: Tharoor-Modi spat, IPL Kochi franchise, Sunanda Pushkar

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article397348.ece

New Delhi, April 14, 2010 Tharoor a honest person, says Sunanda
PTI

PTI A file photo of Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar.

Breaking her silence over the raging IPL Kochi controversy, Sunanda
Pushkar on Wednesday batted for her friend Shashi Tharoor, describing
the Union Minister as a “principled” man and denying accusations that
she was fronting for him.

In an exclusive telephonic interview with PTI from Dubai, Sunanda hit
out at the media for “haunting” Tharoor and making him out to be a
corrupt person.

“Shashi is a kind and honest person. He is a great and principled guy.
It (media trial) makes me sad,” she said, adding that she herself had
been “reduced to a caricature in the media, portrayed with
inaccuracies and falsehoods.”

Lashing out at critics trying to “besmirch” Tharoor by “presenting me
as a proxy for him”, Sunanda said it was “insulting for me as a woman
and a friend“.

Rejecting accusations that she has got equity worth about Rs 69 crore
in the IPL franchise as a gift because of her proximity to Tharoor,
she said “Why you people can’t accept that I am a businesswoman. I
wanted to associate with IPL and I had tried with Kolkata Knight
Riders earlier.

“I am rendering services for Kochi franchise. (I) have advised them in
getting IPL. I am also advising them on marketing and branding and
hence I am getting sweat equity. It is only on paper now. I have not
yet got it.

“And all the report that I have got 18 per cent equity makes me laugh.
It is way below this number but I can’t give the numbers as I am
committed to others about the confidentiality.”

Keywords: IPL Kochi, Sunanda Pushkar, Shashi Tharoor

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article397322.ece

New Delhi, April 14, 2010 Threat to Tharoor: phone number of sender
traced to Delhi
PTI

Central security agencies have traced a local phone number from, which
the alleged death threat from Dawood Ibrahim gang was made to an aide
of Minister of State External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.

Official sources said the number used for sending the alleged threat
message, received by the personal staff of Tharoor, belonged to Delhi
circle and the hunt for the sender is on.

Jacob Joseph, Officer on Special Duty with the Union Minister, has
alleged that the henchmen of Karachi-based underworld don Dawood
Ibrahim have threatened Tharoor to stay out of IPL Kochi team or face
death.

He told the media that the Home Ministry and Delhi Police have been
informed about the message.

Tharoor has been in the thick of a controversy after IPL commissioner
Lalit Modi disclosed that the Minister had telephoned him not to
reveal details about owners of the IPL Kochi franchise, which included
Sunanda Pushkar, a close friend of the Minister.

Pushkar has been given a free equity of around 19 percent, which is
valued at Rs 70 crore in Rendezvous Sports World, which heads the
consortium that owns the IPL Kochi team.

Keywords: Shashi Tharoor, Kochi IPL, Lalit Modi, Rendezvous Sports
World

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article397001.ece

Washington, April 14, 2010 Manmohan to look into Tharoor IPL matter
Special Correspondent

PTI Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor with Sunanda
Pushkar at a function in New Delhi. File Photo: PTI
With controversy swirling back home about the alleged links between
Shashi Tharoor and the promoters of the Kochi IPL franchisees, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh was asked here on Tuesday how he would respond
to the Opposition’s demand that the junior foreign minister be
dismissed.

“I don’t have all the facts before me and when I go back I will get
all the facts and in the light of those if any action is necessary I
think that would be the proper way to proceed”, he said, declining to
get drawn in to specifics. “I cannot go by hearsay or what is in
various columns of the newspapers.”

Keywords: Shashi Tharoor, IPL controversy, Sunanda Pushkar, Manmohan
Singh

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article396745.ece

Washington DC, April 13, 2010 Tharoor’s IPL googly is hat-trick for
Manmohan
Siddharth Varadarajan
PTI

Whatever the facts of the dispute between Shashi Tharoor and Lalit
Modi, this is the third time that a controversy surrounding the junior
foreign minister has threatened to overshadow the Prime Minister
during an important overseas visit.

Halfway through Manmohan Singh’s ongoing visit to the U.S. and Brazil
for the Nuclear Security, BRIC and IBSA summits, the media back home
has already turned its attention to Mr. Tharoor, much to the
irritation of the traveling delegation.

On Tuesday night, TV channels devoted virtually all their time to the
Tharoor-IPL issue, tuning out of what the Prime Minister had to say in
Washington.

In February this year, Mr. Tharoor’s on-the-record comments to Indian
reporters during an informal dinner hosted by the Indian ambassador in
Riyadh triggered a controversy over his use of the word‘interlocutor’.
Though PMO officials agree that the media erred in alleging that he
had called for Saudi ‘mediation’ with Pakistan, they say the junior
minister invited the controversy upon himself and that he should not
have spoken to the press in the first place during the Prime
Minister's visit.

Last September, part of the Prime Minister’s press conference during
the India-Asean summit was spent in firefighting after Mr. Tharoor’s
tweets about traveling in ‘cattle-class’ triggered a political
controversy back home.

Keywords: Shashi Tharoor, Manmohan Singh, Lalit Modi, IPL

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article396519.ece

New Delhi, April 14, 2010 My job is to authenticate every
shareholding: Modi
PTI

The Hindu IPL Commissioner and Chairman Lalit Modi during an IPL match
in Mohali. File Photo: Akhilesh Kumar Related

Tharoor meets Pranab, Antony

Threat to Tharoor: phone number of sender traced to Delhi

Undeterred by Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor
launching an attack on him on Kochi franchise issue, Chairman of
Indian Premier League Lalit Modi on Wednesday asserted that it was his
job to seek details of every shareholder and authenticate.

“It is my job as Chairman of IPL to seek details and authenticate the
shareholding of every franchise... how would otherwise I know where
the money is coming from,” Mr. Modi told PTI on Tharoor’s accusation
of he causing impropriety by divulging the details of the shareholding
of Kochi franchise.

Wondering as to why any third party (Tharoor), which is not a
shareholder in any of the franchise, should be exercised about IPL
seeking details, Mr. Modi said that he did not know about who Sunanda
Pushkar was till he read about her in the newspapers.

Sunanda Pushkar, who was given 19 per cent of the 25 per cent equity
held by Rendezvous Sports World in Kochi franchise, was reported to be
very close to Mr. Tharoor, who is also reported to be planning to
marry her.

The cash rich IPL, which has become a one billion dollar revenue
entity in the third season this year, had auctioned Kochi and Pune
franchise to Rendezvous and Sahara last month for a total of about Rs
3,200 crore.

Mr. Modi, who has been credited for success of IPL which he had
earlier said would help make BCCI the richest sports entity in the
world in next 3-4 years, also wondered as to why Sunanda should be
given free equity and quipped “whether she is bringing any value?”

Questioning Mr. Tharoor making a phone call to IPL for not disclosing
the identity of shareholders of Rendezvous, he said “his call has been
minuted and the entire conversation has been minuted by IPL“.

He said that his main concern was always to find out the sources of
money and identity of shareholders to keep IPL, which has dislodged TV
programmes in terms of catching the eyeballs, to keep the working
transparent and entity above board, particularly on account of the
huge money involved.

Asked about the Board of Control for Cricket in India President
Shashank Manohar taking up cudgels on Kochi issue, Mr. Modi said “I
will not comment on the issue, particularly when it is our internal
matter. I will give a suitable reply.”

Keywords: IPL, controversy, Lalit Modi, Shashi Tharoor, Kochi
franchise

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article396944.ece

New Delhi, April 14, 2010 After BJP, Left demands Tharoor’s
resignation
PTI

After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Left parties on Wednesday
stepped up pressure demanding the resignation of Shashi Tharoor,
saying it was “highly inappropriate” for a Union minister to be
involved in “murky dealings” in connection with IPL.

Noting that the IPL is not just a sporting event but a “big business
enterprise in which big money is involved, the CPI(M) said it was
“highly inappropriate for a minister in the Union government to be
involved in such murky dealings.”

“It is incumbent upon Mr. Tharoor to step down from office till his
name is cleared of any unethical or irregular behaviour,” the party
said in a statement here.

“The involvement of Mr. Tharoor in the IPL franchise for the Kochi
team has raised a number of questions. It now transpires that a person
associated with him has got 19 per cent free equity worth Rs. 70
crores in the company that led the consortium which got the
franchise,” it said.

The CPI(M) also said the UPA government should also explain whether
its ministers can be involved in business dealings in the name of IPL.

“The government should probe the source of certain funds flowing into
the tournament and reconsider whether any tax exemptions or
concessions are justified for this commercial enterprise,” it added.

CPI National Secretary D. Raja also demanded Mr. Tharoor’s resignation
saying his continuance in the government has become “untenable“.

“There should be an enquiry into it. Mr. Tharoor should step down as
his continuance has become untenable,” Mr. Raja said.

Keywords: Lalit Modi, IPL, Shashi Tharoor

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article397173.ece

New Delhi, April 13, 2010 Let CBI probe Tharoor’s stakes: plea in
court
J. Venkatesan

“Minister allegedly used official position to get Kochi IPL team for
Rendezvous”

Keywords: IPL row, controversy, Shashi Tharoor, Lalit Modi, Kochi
franchise, Rendezvous Sports World

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article396286.ece

New Delhi, April 13, 2010 I did not pressure Modi: Tharoor
Special Correspondent

"My sole interest behind mentoring consortium is to steer it towards
Kerala"

Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has denied
asking Indian Premier League (IPL) boss Lalit Modi not to disclose the
composition of the Rendezvous-led consortium that won the bid for an
IPL team.

Admitting his acquaintance with a member of the winning team, the
Minister maintained that his sole interest behind “mentoring'' the
consortium was to “steer'' it towards Kerala.

While Mr. Modi initially guided the consortium through the process and
presented himself as its “trusted friend,'' its unexpected success
upset the plans of a “lot of powerful people'' who wanted the
franchise to go elsewhere, said the Minister in a statement.

Mr. Tharoor's clarification came after Mr. Modi disclosed the names of
the members of the winning consortium and alleged that the former
called him up asking him not to reveal the names.

Mr. Modi's “extraordinary breach of all propriety'' in publicly
raising issues relating to the consortium's composition was an attempt
to discredit the team and create reasons to disqualify it, so that the
franchise could be awarded elsewhere. Mr. Modi raised several
objections to the bid documents, but finally had no choice but to
approve them, Mr. Tharoor said.

The Minister denied pressuring Mr. Modi not to question the
composition of the consortium. Rather, he called up Mr. Modi to ask
why he was further delaying the approval of the franchise when all
legal requirements were fulfilled. “Had he conducted himself in good
faith throughout, no call would have been necessary.''

Mr. Tharoor asserted that his sole interest in “steering'' the
consortium to Kerala was that the move had the potential to bring
“great material and psychological benefits'' to the State's economy
and society.

He said: “I have neither invested nor received a rupee for my
mentorship of the team. Whatever my personal relationships with any of
the consortium members, I do not intend to benefit in any way
financially from my association with the team now or at a later
stage.

“It has been clear for some time that the real motive is to assign
this IPL team elsewhere than Kerala. All of us in Kerala hope that the
BCCI will not permit statements and activities which seek to discredit
the Kerala team before it has even had a chance to prove its worth.''

The statement was issued in his personal capacity to respond to the
allegations made against him.

Keywords: Shashi Tharoor, Lalit Modi, Rendezvous Sports World, BCCI

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article396076.ece

New Delhi, April 14, 2010 UPA all set for battle in Parliament
Neena Vyas

PTI UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi at a function to mark the 119th birth
anniversary of B.R. Ambedhkar, in New Delhi on Wednesday. Gandhi had
consultations with senior colleagues to work out a strategy to meet
the Opposition challenge during the second part of the budget
session.
The United Progressive Alliance coalition at the Centre on Wednesday
prepared to fight the expected onslaught from the Opposition on a
variety of issues that are sure to come up in the second part of the
budget session starting on Thursday.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi began a round of consultations with
senior colleagues to work out a strategy to ward off an Opposition
that seemed determined to embarrass the government. Leader of the Lok
Sabha Pranab Mukherjee, who as Finance Minister will move the Finance
Bill, was among those who met her. Defence Minister A.K. Antony also
met her. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal is at work
to ensure that the UPA's wafer-thin majority does not get eroded by
its MPs absenting themselves on critical days.

The Congress sees cut motions that the Opposition parties have said
they will move as the biggest threat. But party leaders were confident
of meeting the challenge successfully as neither the Left parties nor
the BJP want to bring down the government before they shore up their
strength in their own electoral bastions.

The government's prestige is also at stake, with the Opposition
levelling charges of corruption against Minister of State Shashi
Tharoor. The Congress has already begun distancing itself from him
saying he must explain and the Prime Minister saying in Washington he
would ascertain the facts after returning home. And on the Dantewada
killings, Home Minister P. Chidambaram has already found a supporter
in the BJP, despite its decision to ask for suspension of Question
Hour on the issue.

Keywords: United Progressive Alliance, UPA, budget session, Congress,
Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Lok Sabha, Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Bill,
Defence Minister, A.K. Antony

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article397282.ece

http://navanavonmilita.wordpress.com/horseplay-in-harappa-sid-harth-2/

navanavonmilita

unread,

Apr 15, 2010, 10:06:07 AM4/15/10

Of God, Godmen and Good men: Sid Harth

Francis of Assisi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article's introduction section may not adequately summarize its
contents. To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, please
consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the
article's key points. (February 2010)

This article is about the friar and patron saint.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Painting by Jusepe de Ribera
Confessor
Born 1181/1182, Italy
Died October 4, 1226, Assisi, Italy
Venerated in Catholic Church, Anglican Church
Canonized July 16, 1228, Assisi by Pope Gregory IX
Major shrine Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi
Feast October 4
Attributes Cross, Dove, Pax et Bonum, Poor Franciscan habit, Stigmata
Patronage animals, Catholic Action, environment, merchants,
Meycauayan, Italy, Brgy. San Francisco, San Pablo City, Philippines,
stowaways[1]
Saint Francis of Assisi (Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone; 1181/1182 –
October 3, 1226)[2] was a Catholic deacon and preacher. He also was
the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the
Franciscans.

He is known as the patron saint of animals, the environment and one of
the two patrons of Italy (with Catherine of Siena), and it is
customary for Catholic churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on
his feast day of 4 October.[3]

Childhood and early adulthood

Francis was one of seven children born to Pietro di Bernardone, a rich
cloth merchant, and his wife Pica, about whom little is known except
that she was originally from France[4]. Pietro was in France on
business when Francis was born, and Pica had him baptised as Giovanni
di Bernardone[3] in honor of Saint John the Baptist, in the hope he
would grow to be a great religious leader. When his father returned to
Assisi, he took to calling him Francesco, possibly in honor of his
commercial success and enthusiasm for all things French.[5]

As a youth, Francesco—or Francis in English—became a devotee of
troubadours and was fascinated with all things French.[2][5] Although
many hagiographers remark about his bright clothing, rich friends,
street brawls, and love of pleasure,[4] his displays of
disillusionment toward the world that surrounded him came fairly early
in his life, as is shown in the "story of the beggar." In this
account, he was selling cloth and velvet in the marketplace on behalf
of his father when a beggar came to him and asked for alms. At the
conclusion of his business deal, Francis abandoned his wares and ran
after the beggar. When he found him, Francis gave the man everything
he had in his pockets. His friends quickly chided and mocked him for
his act of charity. When he got home, his father scolded him in rage.
[6]

In 1201, he joined a military expedition against Perugia and was taken
as a prisoner at Collestrada, spending a year as a captive.[7] It is
possible that his spiritual conversion was a gradual process rooted in
this experience. Upon his return to Assisi in 1203, Francis returned
to his carefree life and in 1204, a serious illness led to a spiritual
crisis. In 1205 Francis left for Puglia to enlist in the army of the
Count of Brienne. A strange vision made him return to Assisi,
deepening his ecclesiastical awakening [2].

Francis of Assisi by Francisco de ZurbaránAccording to the
hagiographic legend, thereafter he began to avoid the sports and the
feasts of his former companions; in response, they asked him
laughingly whether he was thinking of marrying, to which he answered
"yes, a fairer bride than any of you have ever seen", meaning his
"lady poverty". He spent much time in lonely places, asking God for
enlightenment. By degrees he took to nursing lepers, the most
repulsive victims in the lazar houses near Assisi. After a pilgrimage
to Rome, where he begged at the church doors for the poor, he said he
had had a mystical vision of Jesus Christ in the Church of San Damiano
just outside of Assisi, in which the Icon of Christ Crucified said to
him, "Francis, Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see,
is falling into ruins". He thought this to mean the ruined church in
which he was presently praying, and so sold some cloth from his
father's store to assist the priest there for this purpose.[2][8]

His father Pietro, highly indignant, attempted to change his mind,
first with threats and then with beatings. After legal proceedings
before the bishop, Francis renounced his father and his patrimony,
laying aside even the garments he had received from him. For the next
couple of months he lived as a beggar in the region of Assisi.
Returning to the countryside around the town for two years this time,
he restored several ruined churches, among them the Porziuncola--
little chapel of St Mary of the Angels--just outside the town, which
later became his favorite abode.[8]

Founding of the Order of Friars Minor

At the end of this period (on February 24, 1209, according to Jordan
of Giano), Francis heard a sermon that changed his life. The sermon
was about Matthew 10:9, in which Christ tells his followers they
should go forth and proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven was upon them,
that they should take no money with them, nor even a walking stick or
shoes for the road.[2] Francis was inspired to devote himself to a
life of poverty.[2]

Clad in a rough garment, barefoot, and, after the Evangelical precept,
without staff or scrip, he began to preach repentance.[2] He was soon
joined by his first follower, a prominent fellow townsman, the jurist
Bernardo di Quintavalle, who contributed all that he had to the work.
Within a year Francis had eleven followers. Francis chose never to be
ordained a priest and the community lived as "lesser brothers,"
fratres minores in Latin.[2]

The brothers lived a simple life in the deserted lazar house of Rivo
Torto near Assisi; but they spent much of their time wandering through
the mountainous districts of Umbria, always cheerful and full of
songs, yet making a deep impression upon their hearers by their
earnest exhortations.[2]

In 1209, Francis led his first eleven followers to Rome to seek
permission from Pope Innocent III to found a new religious order.[9]
Upon entry to Rome, the brothers encountered Bishop Guido of Assisi,
who had in his company Giovanni di San Paolo, the Cardinal Bishop of
Sabina. The Cardinal, who was the confessor of Pope Innocent III, was
immediately sympathetic to Francis and agreed to represent Francis to
the pope. Reluctantly, Pope Innocent agreed to meet with Francis and
the brothers the next day. After several days, the pope agreed to
admit the group informally, adding that when God increased the group
in grace and number, they could return for an official admittance. The
group was tonsured.[10]

Later life

Pope Innocent III has a dream of St. Francis of Assisi supporting the
tilting church (attributed to Giotto)From then on, his new order grew
quickly with new vocations.[11] When hearing Francis preaching in the
church of San Rufino in Assisi in 1209, Clare of Assisi became deeply
touched by his message and she realized her calling.[11] Her brother
Rufino also joined the new order.

On Palm Sunday, March 28, 1211 Francis received Clare at the
Porziuncola and hereby established the Order of Poor Ladies, later
called Poor Clares.[11] In the same year, Francis left for Jerusalem,
but he was shipwrecked by a storm on the Dalmatian coast, forcing him
to return to Italy.

On May 8, 1213 he was given the use of the mountain of La Verna
(Alverna) as a gift from the count Orlando di Chiusi who described it
as “eminently suitable for whoever wishes to do penance in a place
remote from mankind.”[12][13] The mountain would become one of his
favorite retreats for prayer.[13] In the same year, Francis sailed for
Morocco, but this time an illness forced him to break off his journey
in Spain. Back in Assisi, several noblemen (among them Tommaso da
Celano, who would later write the biography of St. Francis) and some
well-educated men joined his order.

In 1215 Francis went again to Rome for the Fourth Lateran Council.
During this time, he probably met Dominic de Guzman[1] (later to be
Saint Dominic, the founder of the Friars Preachers, another Catholic
religious order).

In 1217 the growing congregation of friars was divided into provinces
and groups were sent to France, Germany, Hungary, Spain and to the
East.

St. Francis before the Sultan — the trial by fire (fresco attributed
to Giotto)In 1219 Francis left, together with a few companions, on a
pilgrimage to Egypt. Crossing the lines between the sultan and the
Crusaders in Damietta, he was received by the sultan Melek-el-Kamel.[1]
[14] Francis challenged the Muslim scholars to a test of true religion
by fire; but they retreated.[1] When Francis proposed to enter the
fire first, under the condition that if he left the fire unharmed, the
sultan would have to recognize Christ as the true God, the sultan was
so impressed that he allowed Francis to preach to his subjects.[1][15]
Though Francis did not succeed in converting the sultan, the last
words of the sultan to Francis of Assisi were, according to Jacques de
Vitry, bishop of Acre, in his book "Historia occidentalis, De Ordine
et praedicatione Fratrum Minorum (1221)" : “Pray for me that God may
deign to reveal to me that law and faith which is most pleasing to
him.”.[16]

Francis's visit to Egypt and attempted rapprochement with the Muslim
world had far-reaching consequences, long past his own death, since
after the fall of the Crusader Kingdom it would be the Franciscans, of
all Catholics, who would be allowed to stay on in the Holy Land and be
recognised as "Custodians of the Holy Land" on behalf of Christianity.

Saint Francis of Assisi with the Sultan al-Kamil (15th century)At
Acre, the capital of what remained of the Kingdom of Jerusalem,
Francis rejoined the Order's brothers Elia and Pietro Cattini, and
then most probably visited the holy places in Palestine in 1220.

Although nativity drawings and paintings existed earlier, St Francis
of Assisi celebrated Christmas by setting up the first known three-
dimensional presepio or crèche (Nativity scene) in the town of Greccio
near Assisi, around 1220.[17] He used real animals to create a living
scene so that the worshipers could contemplate the birth of the child
Jesus in a direct way, making use of the senses, especially sight.[17]
Thomas of Celano, a biographer of Francis and Saint Bonaventure both,
tell how he only used a straw-filled manger (feeding trough) set
between a real ox and donkey.[17] According to Thomas, it was
beautiful in its simplicity with the manger acting as the altar for
the Christmas Mass.

When receiving a report of the martyrdom of five brothers in Morocco,
Francis returned to Italy via Venice.[18] Cardinal Ugolino di Conti
was then nominated by the Pope as the protector of the Order. On
September 29, 1220, Francis handed over the governance of the Order to
brother Pietro Catani at the Porziuncola. However, Brother Pietro died
only five months later, on March 10, 1221, and was buried in the
Porziuncola. When numerous miracles were attributed to the late Pietro
Catani, people started to flock to the Porziuncola, disturbing the
daily life of the Franciscans. Francis then prayed, asking Pietro to
stop the miracles and obey in death as he had obeyed during his life.
The report of miracles ceased. Brother Pietro was succeeded by Brother
Elias as Vicar of Francis.

During 1221 and 1222 Francis crossed Italy, first as far south as
Catania in Sicily and afterwards as far north as Bologna.

On November 29, 1223 the final Rule of the Order (in twelve chapters)
was approved by Pope Honorius III.

St. Francis receives the Stigmata (fresco attributed to Giotto)While
he was praying on the mountain of Verna, during a forty-day fast in
preparation for Michaelmas (September 29), Francis is said to have had
a vision on or about September 14, 1224, the Feast of the Exaltation
of the Cross, as a result of which he received the stigmata.[19]
Brother Leo, who had been with Francis at the time, left a clear and
simple account of the event, the first definite account of the
phenomenon of stigmata.[2][19] "Suddenly he saw a vision of a seraph,
a six-winged angel on a cross. This angel gave him the gift of the
five wounds of Christ."[19]

Suffering from these stigmata and from an eye disease, Francis
received care in several cities (Siena, Cortona, Nocera) to no avail.
In the end, he was brought back to a hut next to the Porziuncola.
Here, in the place where it all began, feeling the end approaching, he
spent the last days of his life dictating his spiritual testament. He
died on the evening of October 3, 1226, singing Psalm 141.

On July 16, 1228, he was pronounced a saint by Pope Gregory IX (the
former cardinal Ugolino di Conti, friend of St Francis and Cardinal
Protector of the Order). The next day, the Pope laid the foundation
stone for the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.

He was buried on May 25, 1230, under the Lower Basilica. His burial
place remained inaccessible until it was reopened in 1818. Pasquale
Belli then constructed for his remains a crypt in neo-classical style
in the Lower Basilica. It was refashioned between 1927 and 1930 into
its present form by Ugo Tarchi, stripping the wall of its marble
decorations. In 1978 the remains of St. Francis were identified by a
commission of scholars appointed by Pope Paul VI, and put in a glass
urn in the ancient stone tomb.

Saint Francis is considered the first Italian poet by literary
critics. He believed commoners should be able to pray to God in their
own language, and he wrote often in the dialect of Umbria instead of
Latin. His writings are considered to have great literary value, as
well as religious.[20]

Feast day

Saint Francis's feast day is observed on October 4. In addition to
this feast, a secondary feast is still observed amongst Traditional
Roman Catholics and Franciscans worldwide in honor of the stigmata
received by St Francis celebrated on September 17 called "The
Impression of the Stigmata of St Francis, Confessor" (see the General
Roman Calendar as in 1954, the General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius
XII, and the General Roman Calendar of 1962). On June 18, 1939, Pope
Pius XII named him a joint Patron Saint of Italy along with Saint
Catherine of Siena with the apostolic letter "Licet Commissa", AAS
XXXI (1939), 256-257. Pius XII also remembered the two saints in the
laudative discourse he pronounced on May 5, 1949 in the Santa Maria
sopra Minerva Church.

Nature and the environment

A garden statue of Francis of Assisi with birdsMany of the stories
that surround the life of St. Francis deal with his love for animals.
[21] Perhaps the most famous incident that illustrates the Saint's
humility towards nature is recounted in the "Fioretti" ("Little
Flowers"), a collection of legends and folklore that sprang up after
the Saint's death. It is said that, one day, while Francis was
traveling with some companions, they happened upon a place in the road
where birds filled the trees on either side. Francis told his
companions to "wait for me while I go to preach to my sisters the
birds".[21] The birds surrounded him, drawn by the power of his voice,
and not one of them flew away. Francis spoke to them:

My sister birds, you owe much to God, and you must always and in
everyplace give praise to Him; for He has given you freedom to wing
through the sky and He has clothed you... you neither sow nor reap,
and God feeds you and gives you rivers and fountains for your thirst,
and mountains and valleys for shelter, and tall trees for your nests.
And although you neither know how to spin or weave, God dresses you
and your children, for the Creator loves you greatly and He blesses
you abundantly. Therefore... always seek to praise God.

Main article: Wolf of Gubbio http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_of_Gubbio

Another legend from the Fioretti tells that in the city of Gubbio,
where Francis lived for some time, was a wolf "terrifying and
ferocious, who devoured men as well as animals". Francis had
compassion upon the townsfolk, and went up into the hills to find the
wolf. Soon, fear of the animal had caused all his companions to flee,
though the saint pressed on. When he found the wolf, he made the sign
of the cross and commanded the wolf to come to him and hurt no one.
Miraculously the wolf closed his jaws and lay down at the feet of St.
Francis. "Brother Wolf, you do much harm in these parts and you have
done great evil...", said Francis. "All these people accuse you and
curse you... But brother wolf, I would like to make peace between you
and the people". Then Francis led the wolf into the town, and
surrounded by startled citizens made a pact between them and the wolf.
Because the wolf had “done evil out of hunger”, the townsfolk were to
feed the wolf regularly, and in return, the wolf would no longer prey
upon them or their flocks. In this manner Gubbio was freed from the
menace of the predator. Francis, ever the lover of animals, even made
a pact on behalf of the town dogs, that they would not bother the wolf
again. It is also said that Francis, to show the townspeople that they
would not be harmed, blessed the wolf.

These legends exemplify the Franciscan mode of charity and poverty as
well as the saint's love of the natural world.[22] Part of his
appreciation of the environment is expressed in his Canticle of the
Sun, a poem written in Umbrian Italian in perhaps 1224 which expresses
a love and appreciation of Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Mother Earth,
Brother Fire, etc. and all of God's creations personified in their
fundamental forms. In "Canticle of the Creatures," he wrote: "All
praise to you, Oh Lord, for all these brother and sister
creatures."[3]

Francis's attitude towards the natural world, while poetically
expressed, was conventionally Christian.[4] He believed that the world
was created good and beautiful by God but suffers a need for
redemption because of the primordial sin of man. He preached to man
and beast the universal ability and duty of all creatures to praise
God (a common theme in the Psalms) and the duty of men to protect and
enjoy nature as both the stewards of God's creation and as creatures
ourselves.[21]

Legend has it that St. Francis on his deathbed thanked his donkey for
carrying and helping him throughout his life, and his donkey wept.

Media

St. Francis by Johann Baptist Moroder-Lusenberg[edit] Films
The Flowers of St. Francis, a 1950 film directed by Roberto Rossellini
and co-written by Federico Fellini
Francis of Assisi, a 1961 film directed by Michael Curtiz, based on
the novel The Joyful Beggar by Louis de Wohl
Brother Sun, Sister Moon, a 1972 film by Franco Zeffirelli
Francesco, a 1989 film by Liliana Cavani, contemplatively paced,
follows Francis of Assisi's evolution from rich man's son to religious
humanitarian and eventually to full-fledged self-tortured saint. This
movie was inspired by Hermann Hesse's novel Peter Camenzind[citation
needed] and Scripta Leonis, Rufini et Angeli, Sociorum S. Francisci:
The Writings of Leo, Rufino and Angelo, Companions of St. Francis from
which much of the dialogue is taken directly. St. Francis is played by
Mickey Rourke, and the woman who later became Saint Clare, is played
by Helena Bonham Carter
St Francis, a 2002 film directed by Michele Soavi, starring Raoul Bova
and Amélie Daure.
Clare and Francis, a 2007 film directed by Fabrizio Costa, starring
Mary Petruolo and Ettore Bassi.
[edit] Classical music
Franz Liszt:
Cantico del sol di Francesco d'Assisi, S.4 (sacred choral work, 1862,
1880–81; versions of the Prelude for piano, S. 498c, 499, 499a;
version of the Prelude for organ, S. 665, 760; version of the Hosannah
for organ and bass trombone, S.677)
St. François d'Assise: La Prédication aux oiseaux, No. 1 of Deux
Légendes, S.175 (piano, 1862–63)
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco:
Fioretti (voice and orchestra, 1920)
Gian Francesco Malipiero:
San Francesco d'Assisi (soloists, chorus and orchestra, 1920–1921)
Amy Beach:
Canticle of the Sun (soloists, chorus and orchestra, 1928)
Leo Sowerby:
Canticle of the Sun (cantata for mixed voices with accompaniment for
piano or orchestra, 1944)
Seth Bingham
The Canticle of the Sun (cantata for chorus of mixed voices with soli
ad lib. and accompaniment for organ or orchestra, 1949)
Olivier Messiaen:
opera Saint François d'Assise (1975–83)
William Walton:
Cantico del sol (chorus, 1973–74)

Books

Sant Francesco (Saint Francis, 1895), a book of forty-three Saint
Francis poems by Catalan poet-priest Jacint Verdaguer, three of which
are included in English translation in Selected Poems of Jacint
Verdaguer: A Bilingual Edition, edited and translated by Ronald Puppo,
with an introduction by Ramon Pinyol i Torrents (University of
Chicago, 2007). The three poems are "The Turtledoves", "Preaching to
Birds" and "The Pilgrim".
Saint Francis of Assisi (1923), a book by G. K. Chesterton
"Blessed Are The Meek(1944 ). a book by [Zofia Kossak]
Saint Francis (1962), a book by Nikos Kazantzakis
Scripta Leonis, Rufini Et Angeli Sociorum S. Francisci: The Writings
of Leo, Rufino and Angelo Companions of St. Francis (1970), edited by
Rosalind B. Brooke, in Latin and English, containing testimony
recorded by intimate, long-time companions of St. Francis
Saint Francis and His Four Ladies (1970), a book by Joan Mowat
Erikson
The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi (1996), a book by Patricia
Stewart
Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi (2002), a book by
Donald Spoto
Flowers for St Francis (2005), a book by Raj Arumugam
Chasing Francis, 2006, a book by Ian Cron

Other

In Rubén Darío's poetry "Los Motivos Del Lobo" (The Reasons Of The
Wolf) St. Francis tames a terrible wolf only to discover that the
human heart harbors darker desires than those of the beast.
In Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan Karamazov invokes
the name of 'Pater Seraphicus,' an epithet applied to St. Francis, to
describe Alyshosha's spiritual guide Zosima. The reference is also
found in Goethe's "Faust," Part 2, Act 5, lines 11918–25.
Frank McCourt's autobiography Angela’s Ashes contains some references
to St. Francis.
St. Francis preaches to the birds (2005), chamber concerto for violin
by composer Lewis Nielson
Brother, Sister (2006), third full-length album by indie rock band
MewithoutYou, featuring the song "The Sun and Moon"
The song "Fifty Gallon Drum" from the album Talkin Honky Blues by Buck
65 contains the lyric "I've got a Francis of Assisi keychain, and a
wallet made of Corinthian leather."
St. Francis' Folly is a fictional building in both the original Tomb
Raider video game, and the remake, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, which
somewhat resembles the Pantheon, Rome. Although St. Francis is an
Italian saint, the fictional folly in the video game honors Greek
gods, and consists of a mixture of ancient Greek and Roman
architecture.
The song Boy From the Country, by Michael Martin Murphey from the
album Geronimo's Cadillac.
Sarah Slean's 2002 album, Night Bugs, contains a song entitled St.
Francis.
David Mazzucchelli's graphic novel "Asterios Polyp" makes several
references to Francis of Assisi, including the ironic question "Would
St. Francis swat a mosquito?"
In The Simpsons episode, Sweet and Sour Marge, He was referred to as
"The World's Most Overrated Saint".

Main writings

Canticum Fratris Solis or Laudes Creaturarum, Canticle of the Sun.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canticle_of_the_Sun
Prayer before the Crucifix, 1205 (extant in the original Umbrian
dialect as well as in a contemporary Latin translation).
Regula non bullata, the Earlier Rule, 1221.
Regula bullata, the Later Rule, 1223.
Testament, 1226.
Admonitions.
For a complete list, see [1]. http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fra/FRAwr02.html

See also

References

^ a b c d e Chesterton(1924), p.126
^ a b c d e f g h i j Paschal Robinson (1913). "St. Francis of
Assisi". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/St._Francis_of_Assisi.
^ a b c "Blessing All Creatures, Great and Small". Duke Magazine.
2006-11. http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/111206/depobs.html.
Retrieved 2007-07-30.
^ a b c Englebert, Omer (1951). The Lives of the Saints. New York:
Barnes & Noble. pp. 529. ISBN 978-1566195164.
^ a b Chesterton, Gilbert Keith (1924), St. Francis of Assisi (14
ed.), Garden City, New York: Image Books, pp. 158
^ Chesterton (1924), pp. 40–41
^ Bonaventure; Cardinal Manning (1867), The Life of St. Francis of
Assisi (from the Legenda Sancti Francisci) (1988 ed.), Rockford,
Illinois: TAN Books & Publishers, pp. 190, ISBN 978-0895553430
^ a b Chesterton(1924), pp. 54–56
^ Chesterton(1924), pp. 107–108
^ Galli(2002), pp. 74–80
^ a b c Chesterton(1924), pp. 110–111
^ Fioretti quoted in: St. Francis, The Little Flowers, Legends, and
Lauds, trans. N. Wydenbruck, ed. Otto Karrer (London: Sheed and Ward,
1979) 244.
^ a b Chesterton(1924), p.130
^ "Francis of Assisi in the Holy land". http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/sbf/escurs/wwc/f.html.
^ "Life of St. Francis of Assisi by Paul Sabatier".
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18787/18787-8.txt.
^ "St. Francis lecture". http://www.london.anglican.org/SermonShow_5071.
^ a b c Bonaventure (1867), p. 178
^ Bonaventure (1867), p. 162
^ a b c Chesterton(1924), p.131
^ Chesterton, G.K. (1987). St. Francis. Image. pp. 160 p.. ISBN
0385029004. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/stf01010.htm.
^ a b c Bonaventure (1867), pp. 78–85
^ Bonaventure (1867), pp. 67–68

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Of God, Godmen and Good men: Sid Harth

Dogma

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion,
ideology or any kind of organization: it is authoritative and not to
be disputed, doubted or diverged from. The term derives from Greek
δόγμα "that which seems to one, opinion or belief"[1] and that from
δοκέω (dokeo), "to think, to suppose, to imagine".[2] The plural is
either dogmas or dogmata , from Greek δόγματα.

Dogma in religion

Dogmata are found in many religions such as Christianity, Islam, and
Judaism, where they are considered core principles that must be upheld
by all followers of that religion. As a fundamental element of
religion, the term "dogma" is assigned to those theological tenets
which are considered to be well demonstrated, such that their proposed
disputation or revision effectively means that a person no longer
accepts the given religion as his or her own, or has entered into a
period of personal doubt. Dogma is distinguished from theological
opinion regarding those things considered less well-known. Dogmata may
be clarified and elaborated but not contradicted in novel teachings
(e.g., Galatians 1:8-9). Rejection of dogma may lead to expulsion from
a religious group.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gal%201.8-9;&version=NIV;

For most of Eastern Christianity, the dogmata are contained in the
Nicene Creed and the canons of two, three, or seven ecumenical
councils (depending on whether one is Nestorian, Oriental Orthodox, or
Eastern Orthodox). These tenets are summarized by St. John of Damascus
in his Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, which is the third book
of his main work, titled The Fount of Knowledge. In this book he takes
a dual approach in explaining each article of the Eastern Orthodox
faith: one for Christians, where he uses quotes from the Bible and,
occasionally, from works of other Fathers of the Church, and the
second, directed both at non-Christians (but who, nevertheless, hold
some sort of religious belief) and at atheists, for whom he employs
Aristotelian logic and dialectics, especially reductio ad absurdum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Christianity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecumenical_council
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestorian
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Orthodoxy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodoxy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Fathers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Term_logic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum

Catholics also hold as dogma the decisions of fourteen later councils
and two decrees promulgated by popes' exercising papal infallibility
(see Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Mary). Protestants to
differing degrees affirm portions of these dogmata, and often rely on
denomination-specific 'Statements of Faith' which summarize their
chosen dogmata (see, e.g., Eucharist).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_infallibility
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Conception
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assumption_of_Mary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucharist

In Islam, the dogmatic principles are contained in the aqidah. Within
many Christian denominations, dogma is referred to as "doctrine". In
debates among Marxists the terms "dogma" and "dogmatic" are often used
with a negative connotation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqidah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctrine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxist

Other usage

The term "dogmatic" is often used disparagingly to refer to any belief
that is held stubbornly. It is sometimes applied to political beliefs
[3] or even anti-religious beliefs [4]

A notable use of the term can be found in the Central Dogma of
Molecular Biology. In his autobiography, What Mad Pursuit, Crick wrote
about his choice of the word dogma and some of the problems it caused
him:

I called this idea the central dogma, for two reasons, I suspect. I
had already used the obvious word hypothesis in the sequence
hypothesis, and in addition I wanted to suggest that this new
assumption was more central and more powerful. ... As it turned out,
the use of the word dogma caused almost more trouble than it was
worth.... Many years later Jacques Monod pointed out to me that I did
not appear to understand the correct use of the word dogma, which is a
belief that cannot be doubted. I did apprehend this in a vague sort of
way but since I thought that all religious beliefs were without
foundation, I used the word the way I myself thought about it, not as
most of the world does, and simply applied it to a grand hypothesis
that, however plausible, had little direct experimental support.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Monod

References

^ Dogma, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon,
at Perseus http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2327819&redirect=true
^ Dokeo, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon,
at Perseus http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2327848&redirect=true
^ http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-gabler2-2009oct02,0,7817347.story
^ http://www.deism.com/dogmaticatheism.htm

External links

Look up dogma in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
"Dogma" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dogma

Dogma - Strong's N.T. Greek Lexicon
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogma"

http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/dogma.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Strong_(theologian)

http://www.myspace.com/sidhinduharth

http://navanavonmilita.wordpress.com/of-god-godmen-and-good-men-sid-harth-7/

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Of God, Godmen and Good men: Sid Harth

Mahavira

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the Tirthankara of Jainism. For the Jain
mathematician Mahavira Acharya, see Mahavira (mathematician).

Mahāvīra

24th Jain Tirthankara

Miniature painting of Mahāvīra
Details

Alternate name: Vardhamana

Historical date: 599 – 527 BCE

Family

Father: Siddharatha
Mother: Trishala (Priyakarni)

Dynasty: Ikshvaku http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikshvaku

Places

Birth: Kundalagrama near Vaishali

Nirvana: Pavapuri http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavapuri

Attributes

Colour: Yellow
Symbol: Lion
Height: 6 Feet
Age At Death: 72 years old

Attendant Gods

Yaksha: Matang http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaksha
Yaksini: Siddhayika http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaksini

Jainism

This article is part of a series on Jainism

Prayers and Vows

Navakar Mantra · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namokar_Mantra
Ahimsa · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahimsa
Brahmacharya · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmacharya
Satya · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satya
Nirvana · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana
Asteya · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteya
Aparigraha · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aparigraha
Anekantavada · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anekantavada
Parasparopagraho Jīvānām http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasparopagraho_Jivanam

Key concepts

Kevala Jñāna · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevala_Jnana
Cosmology · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jain_cosmology
Samsara · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara_(Jainism)
Karma · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma_in_Jainism
Dharma · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma_(Jainism)
Mokṣa · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksa_(Jainism)
Gunasthana · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunasthana
Navatattva http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattva_(Jainism)

Major figures

The 24 Tirthankaras · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirthankar
Rishabha · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishabha_(Jain_tirthankar)
Mahavira ·
Acharya · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acharya
Ganadhar · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganadhar
Siddhasen Divakar · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhasen_Divakar
Haribhadra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haribhadra

Jainism by region

India · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Jainism
Western http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism_in_the_West

Sects

Svetambara · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetambara
Digambara · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digambara
Svetambar Terapanth · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetambar_Terapanth
Sthanakvasi · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sthanakvasi
Bisapantha · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bispanth
Murtipujaka http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murtipujaka

Texts

Kalpasutra · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalpasutra_(Jain)
Agama · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%80gama_(Jainism)
Tattvartha Sutra · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattvartha_Sutra
Sanmatti Prakaran

Other

Timeline · http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Jainism

Topics list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jainist_topics

Jainism Portal
v • d • e

Mahavira (Sanskrit महावीर and Tamil அருகன்("Arugan") lit. "Great
Hero", traditionally 599 – 527 BCE[1]) is the name most commonly used
to refer to the Indian sage Vardhamana (Sanskrit: वर्धमान
"increasing") who established what are today considered to be the
central tenets of Jainism. According to Jain tradition, he was the
24th and the last Tirthankara. In Tamil, he is referred to as Arugan
or Arugadevan. He is also known in texts as Vira or Viraprabhu,
Sanmati, Ativira,and Gnatputra. In the Buddhist Pali Canon, he is
referred to as Nigantha Nātaputta.

Life

Birth of Prince Vardhaman

Queen Trishala and her fourteen dreamsIn a place called Kshatriyakunda
in the ancient kingdom of Lachuar in Jamui District in modern day
Bihar, India, Mahavira was born to King Siddartha and Queen Trishala
on the 13th day under the rising moon of Chaitra (12 April according
to the Gregorian calendar). While still in his mother's womb it is
believed he brought wealth and prosperity to the entire kingdom, which
is why he was also known as Vardhaman. An increase of all good things,
like the abundant bloom of beautiful flowers, was noticed in the
kingdom after his conception. Queen Trishala had 14 (14 in Swetambar
Sect, 16 in Digambar Sect) auspicious dreams before giving birth to
Vardhaman, signs foretelling the advent of a great soul.

Jain tradition states that after his birth, Indra bathed him in
celestial milk with rituals befitting a future Tirthankar and he was
returned to his mother, Trishala.

Vardhaman's birthday is celebrated as Mahavir Jayanti, the most
important religious holiday of Jains around the world.

Early years

As King Siddartha's son, he lived as a prince. However, even at that
tender age he exhibited a virtuous nature. He started engaging in
meditation and immersed himself in self-contemplation. He was
interested in the core beliefs of Jainism and began to distance
himself from worldly matters.

Spiritual pursuit

India at the time of MahaviraAt the age of thirty Mahavira renounced
his kingdom and family, gave up his worldly possessions, and spent
twelve years as an ascetic. During these twelve years he spent most of
his time meditating. He gave utmost regard to other living beings,
including humans, animals and plants, and avoided harming them. He had
given up all worldly possessions including his clothes, and lived an
extremely austere life. He exhibited exemplary control over his senses
while enduring the penance during these years. His courage and bravery
earned him the name Mahavira. These were the golden years of his
spiritual journey, at the end of which he achieved Kaivalya Gyan. He
was now a person of infinite harmony, knowledge and self-control.

Later years

Mahavira devoted the rest of his life to preaching the eternal truth
of spiritual freedom to people around India. He traveled barefoot and
without clothes, in the hardest of climates, and people from all walks
of life came to listen to his message. At one point Mahavira had over
400,000 followers. Mahavira's preaching and efforts to spread Jain
philosophy is considered the real catalyst to the spread of this
ancient religion throughout India and into the mainstream.

At the age of 72 years and 4.5 months, he attained Nirvana in the area
known as Pawapuri on the last day of the Indian and Jain calendars,
Dipavali. Jains celebrate this as the day he attained liberation or
Moksha. Jains believe Mahavira lived from 599-527 BCE, though some
scholars prefer 549-477 BCE.[2]

Philosophy

Mahavira

The Jina, or Mahavir, as Guru folio from a manuscript, Gujarat, India,
c. 1411Mahavira's philosophy has eight cardinal principals – three
metaphysical and five ethical. The objective is to elevate the quality
of life.

Mahavira preached that from eternity, every living being (soul) is in
bondage to karmic atoms accumulated by good or bad deeds. In a state
of karmic delusion, the individual seeks temporary and illusory
pleasure in material possessions, which are the root causes of self-
centered violent thoughts and deeds as well as anger, hatred, greed,
and other vices. These result in further accumulation of karma.

To liberate one's self, Mahavira taught the necessity of right faith
(samyak-darshana), right knowledge (samyak-gyana), and right conduct
(samyak-charitra'). At the heart of right conduct for Jains lie the
five great vows:

Nonviolence (Ahimsa) - to cause no harm to any living being;
Truthfulness (Satya) - to speak the harmless truth only;
Non-stealing (Asteya) - to take nothing not properly given;
Chastity (Brahmacharya) - to indulge in no sensual pleasure;
Non-possession/Non-attachment (Aparigraha) - to detach completely from
people, places, and material things.
These vows cannot be fully implemented without accepting the
philosophy of non-absolutism (Anekantvada) and the theory of
relativity (Syādvāda, also translated "qualified prediction"). Monks
and nuns adhere strictly to these vows, while the laypeople observe
them as best they can.

Mahavira taught that men and women are spiritual equals and that both
may renounce the world in search of moksh or ultimate happiness.

Mahavira attracted people from all walks of life, rich and poor, men
and women, touchable and untouchable. He organized his followers into
a fourfold order; monk (Sadhu), nun (Sadhvi), layman (Shravak), and
laywoman (Shravika). This order is known as Chaturvidh Jain Sangh.

Mahavira's sermons were preserved orally by his immediate disciples in
the Agam Sutras. Through time many Agam Sutras have been lost,
destroyed, or modified. About one thousand years after Mahavira's time
the Agam Sutras were recorded on Tadpatris (palm leaf paper used then
to form books). Swetambar Jains accept these sutras as authentic
teachings while Digambar Jains use them as a reference.

Jainism existed before Mahavir, and his teachings were based on those
of his predecessors. Thus Mahavira was a reformer and propagator of an
existing religion, rather than the founder of a new faith. He followed
the well established creed of his predecessor Tirthankar Parshvanath.
However, Mahavira did reorganize the philosophical tenets of Jainism
to correspond to his times.

A few centuries after Mahavira's Nirvana, the Jain religious order
(Sangh) grew more and more complex. There were schisms on minor
points, although they did not affect Mahavira's original doctrines.
Later generations saw the introduction of rituals and complexities
that some criticize as placing Mahavira and other Tirthankars on the
throne similar to those of Hindu deities.

Replica of Pavapuri temple at Pansara. Mahavira attained Nirvana at
Pava.
Plate showing Mahavira accepting Alms

Mahavira

Folio from a Kalpasutra (Book of Sacred Precepts) by Acharya
Bhadrabahu, c. 1400 CEThere are various Jain text describing life of
Lord Mahavira. Most notable of them is Kalpasutra by Acharya
Bhadrabahu I. First Sanskrit biography of Mahavira was
Vardhamacharitra by Asaga in 853 CE [3]

See also: "Sraman Mahavira" by Acharya Mahapragya

"Lord Mahavira and his times" by Kailash Chand Jain (1991) Motilal
Banarsidass Publishers PVT LTD Delhi (India)
"Lord Mahavira (A study in historical perspective)" by Bool Chand
( 1987 ) P.V. Research Institute I.T.I Road Varanasi 5 (India)
"Lord Mahavira in the eyes of foreigners" by Akshaya Kumar Jain
( 1975 ) Meena Bharati New Delhi 110003 (India)

Quotes

"Once when he sat [in meditation]... they cut his flesh... tore his
hair... picked him up and... dropped him... the Venerable One bore the
pain." (from the Acaranga Sutra)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acaranga_Sutra

Notes

^ "Mahavira." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc., 2006. Answers.com 28 Nov. 2009. http://www.answers.com/topic/mahavira
^ The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. Keith Crim, editor.
Harper & Row Publishers: New York, 1989. 451.
^ Jain, Kailash Chand (1991). Lord Mahāvīra and his times, Lala S. L.
Jain Research Series. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 59. ISBN 8120808053.
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=0UCh7r2TjQIC&pg=PA341&lpg=PA341&dq=asaga+9th+century+poet&source=bl&ots=9hmuD0MAsf&sig=2qxwBO1G_4alg8v9KXbzJuFZZ9M&hl=en&ei=1_SKSojFDYPe7AOJyrGgDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false.

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24 Tirthankars of Jainism

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